MSDUK 2018 Conference & Awards
Mayank Shah, CEO, MSDUK discusses why the Vox was the right choice for their first event out of London.
Name of event: MSDUK 2018 Conference & Awards
Date: 25th & 26th September 2018
No. of delegates: 300/400
What happened at the event? We hosted the sixth MSDUK Conference and Awards at the Vox, which is the must-attend conference for Ethnic minority owned Businesses (EMBs) and Corporations looking to connect with diverse and like-minded business men and women.
The two-day conference started with the Business Opportunity Day where we utilised the Vox’s flexible suites to host a full-day exhibition with “silent seminars” in the same room.
This was an innovative concept suggested by the Vox and really supported the theme of the conference which was “Unlocking Innovation through Diversity”. This allowed our delegates to remain a part of the exhibition and soak in the atmosphere of the sessions, whilst learning through our seminars.
This was extremely beneficial to us; firstly, we didn’t lose people throughout the day because everyone was present in the same room. Secondly, it also gave delegates an option to attend the exhibition, the seminars – or both. The second day started early with a sunrise yoga session in the foyer of the Vox.
This was a new incentive for us as we wanted to energise our delegates for the day ahead. The Vox Foyer was the perfect location for this as the floor to ceiling windows of the venue overlooked the lake and the complex below; it was the perfect and most beautiful location for this type of activity! This was followed by a nourishing smoothie bar before heading into the Knowledge Forum in the day and the Business Awards in the evening.
The food at the awards was phenomenal! We opted against a traditional sit-down meal and chose a Street Food dining format instead. The food was great, and we have had wonderful feedback. It also meant that our delegates could network freely in an informal setting.
Any challenges? This year, for the first time, we decided to move our conference location from London to Birmingham and some of our guests were quite sceptical about this decision. However, the Vox proved a huge success because of its proximity to both the airport – for our international guests from America – and the train station which meant that our delegates could travel to the venue with ease.
The success! Our delegates have said that the Vox was a great venue – they would love to come and visit again! To succeed in convincing Londoners to come to Birmingham was a great achievement and we would have not been able to do that without the Vox. They are excellent and helped us to deliver a fantastic event.
Watch the video of the event by MSDUK below: