The milestone of Céline De Coninck
An open mind
Historic venues
This year, Céline and her team brought numerous young European and youth workers to Ghent to learn from each other. “Flanders not only offers stunning historic venues but also boasts a highly professional events sector that takes your conferences to the next level. And the region is easily accessible, which is another plus.”
“Flanders has a highly professional events sector that takes your conferences to the next level.”
“We invited the Bosnian architect Arna Mačkić to one of our conferences. Her work focuses on architecture that fosters connection in public spaces. Unfortunately, the panel discussion I was set to have with Arna didn’t happen. But I’d very much like another shot at meeting her!”
Preaching to the choir
There are two things about conferences that Céline would love to see change. “Firstly, there should be a better representation of the groups in question. Just consider the age of the typical conference attendee. If the discussion is about young people, they should darn well be at the table. But the same applies to people who are battling illness, for example.”
“We need to make an even bigger effort to look beyond the boundaries of our own field, because interdisciplinary connections are where the magic happens.”
“Secondly, a congress should avoid preaching to the choir. We need to make an even bigger effort to look beyond the boundaries of our own field, because interdisciplinary connections are where the magic happens. When I was a youth worker, the organization I worked with received an award at a conference of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. That’s when you know you’re making a difference.”
