‘Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos’, ‘Technology Zombies’ and ‘The Secret of the Pareto Mindset’ are just three of the unusual session titles at the next European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC). The conference, taking place from 29-31 January 2012 in Budapest, Hungary, is organised by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and aims to connect inventive thinkers inside and outside the industry.

Speakers include co-founder of Coffee Republic, Sahar Hashemi, who built a £30m turnover business, which was forced into administration by the recession in 2009. She will speak about innovation in modern business, while ground-breaking Hungarian pianist and songwriter, Balázs Havasi,will present his unique perspective on ‘re-imagined innovation’. A TED global presenter and Guinness World Record holder, Havasi is known for his ‘most piano key hits in one minute’ set at the Academy of Music Budapest.

Delegates who aren’t regular members of MPI will have a unique opportunity to experience some of the programming that takes place at chapter level. Two programmes from its ‘Best of the Best’ competition will appear at EMEC. MPI France presents Mike Clanton and ‘Don’t Let Your Event’s Technology Zombie Control You!’, focusing on successfully planning and executing technology-dependent events. Meanwhile MPI Netherlands brings Dr. Xander Kranenburg and ‘Beyond Digital Creativity - Mashup all your ideas’, with insights on techniques and tools that help professionals work more efficiently and enhance creative events.

Registration is open now at mpiweb.org/emec

Pictured: pianist Balázs Havasi