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From Convene’s blog (continued)

HISTORY LESSONS FOR EVENT PROFESSIONALS

“Hillier also poses the question ‘Can

we imagine the future as more of the same? Even better?’ with regard to the impact of convention centers and the exhibitions they house. “When I think of all the new confer-

ences that spread ideas ‘across cultural and geographic boundaries’ — for instance, several endangered languages were revitalized at the inaugural Our

WHEN DONKEYS AND ELEPHANTS MEET … FACE TO FACE Senior Editor Barbara Palmer discusses meetings that took her by surprise, from Bigfoot enthusiasts searching for Sasquatch to opposing political parties talking it out at the Harvard Institute of Politics’ Campaign Decision Makers Conference: “As regular readers know, Convene

A recent trip to the Brooklyn Museum reminded Assistant Editor Sarah Beauchamp of the power of interna- tional exhibitions throughout the course of history: “Since the mid-19th century, con-

vention centers have been identified with international commerce, the growth of trade, and the exchange of technology across geographic and cultural boundaries,” independent architect Barbara Hillier notes in her “Brief History of Convention Cen- ters” (convn.org/show-places) in the October 2010 issue of Convene. “I was reminded of this idea

when wandering through the Brooklyn Museum last weekend and this writing desk caught my eye. The plaque next to it explains that ‘American interest in Japanese art and design, including bamboo furniture, was stimulated by goods exhibited by Japan at the 1876 Cen- tennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.’ Conventions and exhibitions are a great way to trace the spread of ideas throughout history.

8 PCMA CONVENE JANUARY 2013

has an ongoing feature called ‘There’s a Meeting for That?’ which spotlights meetings that take us by surprise — there’s a meeting for that? — while reminding us of the sturdiness of the desire for people with shared interests to get together to talk and learn from one another. My favorite this year, hands down, was editor Sarah Beauchamp’s find, the 1st Annual Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo, which was the first-ever livestreamed Bigfoot convention. “But this week I’ve been reading

about a meeting that surprised me in an entirely different way — the Harvard Institute of Politics’ Campaign Decision Makers Conference brought together campaign managers and analysts from the Obama and Romney presidential campaigns, to talk frankly about the strategies and tactics they used during the recent campaign. “The thought that campaign strate-

gists who fought so bitterly against one another would sit down to learn from one another seemed to me to be about as likely as, well, a sighting of Bigfoot. But as [a] story from Slate.com reports (convn.org/slate-pcdmc), the partici- pants who showed up had substantive

Voices on the Air: Reaching New Audi- ences Through Indigenous Radio conference (convn.org/gb_oct12), and creative ideas abounded at the first- ever C2MTL (convn.org/c2-mtl) — the answer to Hillier’s question is obvious: Yes. We can expect more, and we can always expect better.”

Read more at convn.org/exhibit-history.

The democratic process at work.

and candid conversations and were (mostly) polite to one another. I can’t help but think that meeting face-to-face had a positive effect on keeping the dis- course civil and constructive.” Read more at convn.org/

poli-campaigns.

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