Proponents of the social impact of events narrative convened in Bruges for IMPACT DAY hosted by The VISITFLANDERS Convention Bureau, #MEET4IMPACT, and the GDS-Movement to discuss how collaboration between social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and government can collaborate to drive positive change using association meetings as the catalyst.
“We’re impact creators…”, explained Genevieve Leclerc, co-founder of #Meet4Impact,” trying to solve societal problems with the tool that we have, which is events.” Leclerc was joined by leading social entrepreneur and founder of Impact House, Piet Colruyt, who explained the importance of collaboration between those working to effect social change around a specific topic or “bridging silos to create impact”.
De Jongh: The key to unlocking funding mechanisms is the alignment of everyone’s agendas around a common topic.
Executive director at EASL (European Association for the Study of the Liver) and AC Forum president, Ben Hainsworth welcomed the social impact narrative, praising the work of VISITFLANDERS and The European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) which received the BestCities-sponsored ICCA 2024 Incredible Impacts Programme (IIP) Grant.
EACD was selected for its EACD+ program, which promotes access to sports, culture, and technology for children with disabilities, improving their quality of life and advocating for inclusivity across Europe – a result of the conference it held in Bruges in 2024. EACD aims to expand ‘EACD+’ to future host destinations and establish an Impact Taskforce focussed on raising awareness of the rights of people with childhood development disabilities.
Read the EACD Case Study from BestCities Global Alliance here
Further Reading:
From Meet in Flanders: Interview with Professor Tara Grauwet, speaker at Impact Day
From Boardroom: European Academy of Childhood Disability Awarded 2024 Incredible Impacts Grant
From AMI: Impact Day: where does the industry go from here?
From HQ Magazine: Flanders Welcomes the Conference Industry for the First Impact Day
