Australia’s MEA announces 2023 conference destination and dates

Industry association, Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) has announced it will take its conference for event professionals, Evolve 2023, to The Gold Coast for the first time since 2006. The event will run 7-8 June 2023. Following a successful comeback conference earlier this year in Melbourne, MEA now looks forward to fostering the Australian events sector’s resurgence by bringing it together at the coastal creative thinking hotspot to enable its workforce members to consolidate their professional networks at social functions, to enhance their skillsets over a one and a half day conference programme, and recognise outstanding performance over 2021 and 2022 as the National MEA Awards Gala Dinner, which makes its long-awaited return. With the real and immediate need for upskilling quickly becoming a priority across all areas of the events sector, Evolve 2023 will present an opportunity for event professionals to reconnect and for businesses to educate and develop their staff on future predictions, latest innovations, and to hear from event experts on trending topics. MEA CEO Peter McDonald commented: “I’m really excited that MEA will return to the Gold Coast for the first time in 17 years for our annual conference. Where better to begin winter than somewhere sunny, bright, fun and vibrant. With many parts of Australia having a public holiday, either the preceding or following Monday, our dates bode well for a bit of a working holiday. Not many places better to do that than ‘Australia’s favourite playground’ as it’s come to be known.” MEA will be working closely with its Gold Coast Branch Committee chair, Jackie Rouleston-Stuart, and Queensland Branch Committee chair Alicia Thomas, to plan and run a successful event. www.meetingsevents.com.au