Our inboxes are full of event invites. Digital Health Canada events stand out in a crowded field of invitations by consistently including these three key elements in the planning of every event:
- Relevance. Every Digital Health Canada event is curated to include only those speakers and topics that will offer attendees valuable, applicable insights into the challenges they face as Canadian digital health professionals. Panelists share real-world experiences as digital health leaders, and engage in open-ended conversations about the industry, discussing the realities of today and the possibilities of the future.
- Engagement. Digital Health Canada regional events almost exclusively favour engaging multi-speaker panel sessions over slide-based, scripted presentations. The goal of each event is to spark conversations – between panelists and among attendees – that can lead to fresh insights or new partnerships. Says Digital Health Canada CEO Mark Casselman: “I think our events are unique because we espouse interaction as opposed to presenting a speaker on the stage talking at people. And it’s a testament to the diversity and range and experience of the attendees that the conversation is often so interesting.”
- Diversity. The breadth and scope of Digital Health Canada’s diverse, cross-country membership means panelists, speakers, and attendees are drawn from widely different sectors of the
Canadian digital health landscape. Digital Health Canada events strive for a healthy mix of public and private sector representation, with stakeholders from traditional industry organizations, government agencies, and new and emerging industry players.
The “aha” moment
You can read about events after the fact, but being there really does make a difference. Influencers and thought leaders drawn from the ranks of Digital Health Canada membership are as likely to be sitting beside you in a networking session or at lunch as they are on a panel; you have to be in the room interacting with other attendees to have that “aha moment”. Event programs and panels are engineered to produce multiple moments throughout the day, but conversations can’t be planned or predicted – which is why attendance matters.
The take-away
Every event offers valuable information, tools, and resources attendees can bring back to their peers. Regional event attendees can take the insights and ideas they gathered back to their teams and apply them at work: write a brief report to management on lessons learned, or use them as the basis for “Monday Morning Manager” talk or tweet. Says Mark: “Our members have valuable opinions and ideas… sitting beside people at events, having a conversation, I often think ‘I want you on the next panel!’ Its a rich atmosphere all the way around. Its not just about the people on the stage.”
