Community

I've woken up each morning for the past 10 days to largely positive news. Today, we were again trending 18% in new COVID-19 cases nationwide. Optimism is again taking hold – this time much more swiftly – and instead of asking IF we are going to move forward with meetings next year, many of us are exploring HOW. Duty of Care will be the key to 2022 in our community. We are going to need all of the brainpower we can get to make that happen and move forward together.

Many of us on the Commission were approached in 2020 by very tenured professionals in the meetings industry in a year that many were (and some still are) transitioning or looking for new positions where CMP may be preferred or required, to ask if there is a path back to the CMP without having to completely restudy and re-sit for the exam. As a group, we have met over the past year to figure out that path back to the credential for those who have kept roles in the meetings industry and who have kept up with their continuing education, who may have let their accreditation that they studied so hard for lapse due to outdated contact info/tough spam filters, or who got so busy that they didn’t see their window come and go. Candidates who will be eligible for one-time amnesty allowing for full reinstatement may have to dig out a bunch of years of CEUs, but they are going to be welcomed back with open arms. We are hoping that this will enable them to “tick another box” to show that they are that perfect candidate that fits all the requirements of that perfect new position they have been looking for. 

This is, of course, timed with our new CMP Fellows Programme as a special invitation to those thought leaders who we need to be a part of this critical juncture in our industry; to take the barriers out of the way to bring their brains, talent and drive back into the CMP Community. There will be special collaboration events, speaking engagement invitations, and highly specialised volunteer opportunities where tenured thought leadership is required for this inaugural group of Fellows. 

We will also be providing a new offering for potential new candidates or renewal CMP candidates through a CMP Scholarship Programme provided by sponsors, directly through the Events Industry Council, to help offset the cost of the test, study materials and exam application fees or renewal fees for industry professionals in need. 

You will also be seeing exciting information coming out in the next few months about the re-imagining of Conclave that will take all of this re-engaged brainpower and start activating the collaboration for the entire community. 

As an industry, the best in the business need to have the tools they need to make it through to the other side of this. We are working hard to bring new brainpower into the CMP Community, while at the same time bringing the mentors, subject matter experts, and the most tenured and senior industry professionals back into our conversations to ensure that we have a vibrant and robust community positioned for a comeback unlike anything this industry has ever seen. Our stakeholders are ready to see each other again, and it’s going to be our community that paves the way for them to be able to do that successfully...and safely.

Best Wishes,

Alisa Peters, CMP, CMM

Senior Global Event Strategist

Chair, CMP Governance Commission - Events Industry Council