Comeback Vs Return

[Fidelia Boldul]

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In-person events will also be smaller, for a few reasons. One, they're easier to control from a safety standpoint (obviously). Two, they present a clear value proposition and are more easily targeted. And three, they encourage interaction, participation, and engagement. And that leads to real connections among attendees that drive real business outcomes. (That's one of the many reasons small events are just plain better. Check out my article on this topic here).

But not everyone will feel comfortable going back to in-person events right away, so many of them will take a hybrid approach with a virtual component. Our recent industry research shows that 79% of companies plan on hosting hybrid events, even when in-person events resume.

It's up to event professionals to give people a reason to come. You can do this gradually by starting small. Tailor agendas and invite lists to maximize relevancy. Provide an experience that's unattainable virtually. Focus on connection, interaction and participation. Make the effort to encourage authentic engagement. And maybe most importantly, assure attendees they'll get all these things safely. That's where trust comes in.

But what about inter-attendee trust? Those who attend events must trust not only the organizers and venue but other attendees too. Do attendees know each other? Are they confident others will follow protocol? Can they ask those questions of one another?

That kind of trust isn't developed at a welcome cocktail hour. But you can build it beforehand if you provide clarity on rules, as well as attendees and their statuses (vaccinated, negative tests, etc.). And to provide a conduit for that clarity, you need to start building a community.

When built around a common purpose or interest, a community can become a real circle of trust. If event professionals want to inspire trust among attendees, they have to establish a community first. And they can achieve this through events.

Small events with curated attendee lists and plenty of pre-and post-event interaction lay the groundwork for a community. Hosting a series of events breeds familiarity. It also forges stronger connections, reinforcing the commonality of purpose essential for creating a circle of trust. And if your series of interconnected, small virtual events create a community among attendees, they're more likely to strike up friendships of the IRL kind.

As I wrote in an earlier article, a small, intimate event series will naturally produce little "pods" of like-minded people with plenty in common. They have a reason to get together and have built up trust among themselves to do so safely.

In that article, I referenced Salesforce as a company that has embraced smaller events. One of the reasons they did so is the trust and community benefits bred in more intimate settings. Trust is a key Salesforce value. It's what makes for good software sales and what makes for effective events. We can all take a page from their playbook and ensure the guiding principle behind the return of in-person gatherings is trust.

Neighborhood churches tend to be small or midsize and well-established. For years, we have dismissed the potential for a significant move of God in these churches. I believe they are primed for a comeback. They are numerous, and they are located in the heart of places with lots of people.

In too many communities, pastors treat their church campuses like islands instead of as interconnected outposts in a kingdom network. Pastors need to get off their islands and befriend other pastors. When pastors in a community become friends, tenures become longer, and churches stop competing and start cooperating. The comeback of neighborhood churches will hit its stride when the pastors spend more energy working together than trying to compete.

Revitalizing the church should include revitalizing the community. The way to better church health is through outward movement, not inward focus. Imagine a movement of neighborhood churches, each revitalizing a one-mile radius around their campuses. It would change the nation!

Hi Sam, I was excited to read this article. I attended a neighborhood church for 5 years. Not much going on there. I complained to my wife that no one was doing anything. She said if you are that concerned then you do something. I did just that. I ordered door hangers from Christian book, had the back imprinted with church info and went to 66 homes on the street the church is on. I prayed and hung the door hanger. I spoke to maybe 6-8 people. I invited all to our church. I spoke to 1 of those contacts he said they would come. A week later he did with fianc and 7 kids. Everyone was shocked at the church that someone came. I know this is a long message but I am a big believer in church answers and you guys are on the tip of the spear with your work on the local church. God Bless you and what you do!

I was subsequently able to get back to golfing and working out until last year, when I suffered a shoulder injury after a fall, resulting in multiple tears. I tried physical therapy for quite some time and several injections without much relief. Given my successful hip surgeries at American Hip Institute, I decided to return for my shoulder. The clinical team clearly explained all the damage incurred to my shoulder as well as the surgical plan to repair it. Since the procedure, my shoulder has been feeling fantastic. Just a few days later, though, my right knee gave out. I had a complicated history of numerous surgeries to the knee, so returning back to American Hip Institute at this point was a no-brainer. The team scheduled me in that very week for a partial knee replacement, and my knee has never felt better.

I have only received first-class, top-notch care at American Hip Institute. From the front desk to the surgery schedulers to the x-ray techs, everyone has always been attentive and willing to spend as much time as needed. In the clinic, I have never felt rushed, and the team always ensures everything is explained to me thoroughly. After all of these successful procedures, I consider myself the poster child for American Hip Institute and have since referred numerous friends."

Today, there is growing support for rewilding and wildlife comeback. But this comes with its own challenges. With wolves absent from many parts of Europe for hundreds of years, Europeans are now learning to live with these iconic and ecologically important animals once again.

The wolf is a so-called apex predator and plays a key role in European ecosystems. As a keystone species, wolves have both a direct and indirect impact on prey populations. Besides direct predation, wolves affect the behaviour of their prey through the so-called ecology of fear, meaning the presence of a predator also induces behavioural and physiological changes in prey species. This has a positive impact on the landscape, enabling many other plants and animals to flourish. In this regard, wolves initiate a domino effect, affecting species as diverse as birds, beavers, fish and butterflies.

Concerns over wolves and their comeback in Europe clearly need to be addressed, particularly when it comes to livestock depredation. Yet the misguided suggestion of simply eradicating wolves is expensive, frequently unfeasible, and means we lose the wide-ranging benefits that these amazing animals can deliver. Today, with more and more Europeans expressing a desire to live alongside wolves, there are a number of ways to ensure that humans and wolves can live alongside each other without conflict.

Misconceptions, fear, politics, conflicting interests, and disinformation all influence the way wolves are managed in Europe today. Attitudes towards wolves in Europe vary widely, which means measures to improve human-wolf coexistence often need to address the underlying drivers of conflict.

The Italian NGO Io non ho paura del lupo (I'm not afraid of the wolf), a member of Rewilding Europe's European Rewilding Network, is working to promote human-wolf coexistence in the Italian Alpine Arc region.

In areas where wolves are present, the organisation's "Return of the Wolf" initiative is reaching out to local stakeholders to raise awareness and understanding through educational events, training and outdoor activities, and stakeholder meetings dedicated to wolves and other wildlife.

European farmers need to be empowered to adapt their production systems to make them less vulnerable, with rural development bodies playing a more supportive role. This adaptation needs to be done in anticipation of wolves settling in a new area. Great care is also needed in assessing attacks putatively attributed to wolves - it is often difficult to differentiate between livestock killed by wolves and livestock killed by dogs.

A study carried out in Greece in 2017 found that three preventive measures significantly reduced wolf depredation risk for livestock herds - increased herd surveillance, systematic night confinement, and an adequate number of livestock guard dogs. These findings have been found to be applicable almost everywhere, and for all kinds of livestock (including cattle).

These resources include subsidising salaries and accommodation of shepherds, purchasing and maintaining livestock guard dogs and fences, assessing livestock depredation vulnerability, and providing expert advice to mitigate losses. However, use of these resources across Europe has so far been limited.

The target is to eventually embed 100 dogs within livestock flocks and herds in the area. The Serra da Estrela dogs used in the programme have been guarding livestock against attacks by Iberian wolves for centuries.

Inspired by approaches to coexistence with bears in North America, the "wildlife-smart community" concept is designed to enable and encourage communities to embrace and benefit from coexistence with wildlife, including wolves.

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