The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the premier business travel organisation, today announced details of their new event in Europe dedicated to the meetings and event sector.

The forum, called The Meetings Lab, is being held at the Principal Hayley Château Saint-Just, just outside of Paris, France on 10th-11th November. The event allows delegates to experience unusual session formats while discussing issues of the day including remuneration, RFPs, measuring event success, effective policy and processes and the importance of meetings architecture.  The organisation also intends to measure energy levels throughout the event to measure delegate engagement.

Session formats include The Collaborative Distraction – where delegates work collaboratively whilst discussing issues, Pass the Problem – where delegates pass issues to other participants to contribute potential solutions, and The Freudian Walk – where delegates are divided into small groups to walk outside and discuss contentious issues affecting the sector.

The event, supported by founding sponsors Starcite and Principal Hayley, has attracted interest for its innovative approach to content and format, based on feedback from a steering group of meeting and event buyer heavy-weights.

Paul Tilstone, managing director of GBTA Europe, said, ”We wanted to create something new for the sector which buyers and suppliers would get real value from. This is an experiment in conference formats which could change the way we all meet when those attending take lessons back to their companies.  I’m particularly excited about the Freudian Walk, which will happen in the grounds of the Château.”