‘Satisfied? Me? During a congress? Never!’

“As a vehicle to gather and distribute information, the congress  has seen better days. There are other, faster  and more efficient ways to test scientific insights, analyses and opinions against each other. But as an opportunity to crystallise an international, professional network, the congress  remains invaluable”, Jeroen Janssens claims. Janssens is a conference manager for the European Resuscitation Council, a European umbrella organisation that focuses on the subject of resuscitation. On the front of a house in the centre of the small village of Niel, there is an automatic electronic defibrillator. The regulars in the Keizershof pub, a few steps down the road, call it the “little green box” without really knowing what it's doing there. Still, AEDs are becoming a much more common sight, and the European Resuscitation Council, which was founded in 1989, is behind much of this change. “The mission of our organisation is threefold”, congress manager Jeroen Janssens explains. “Just like other umbrella organisations of our type, one of our roles is scientific: advancing knowledge about resuscitation techniques and stimulating the exchange of scientific insights on this subject. What we also share with similar international associations is that we're developing a wide range of courses that eventually lead to a certification.” “But we also have a significant PR role. In a critical situation, time is the most important factor for successful resuscitation. In effect, this means you shouldn't  wait for a professional to appear, but instead perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation yourself, or use an AED in the correct way. For example, in the last two years, we've invested a lot of time in 'Kids save lives', a campaign to have resuscitation techniques added to the curriculum of secondary schools across Europe.”

Diverse  target audience

The European Resuscitation Council provides direction for thirty National Resuscitation Councils. These national councils are the main recipients of manuals published in various languages by the ERC, and courses developed for diverse target audiences: basic courses of around four hours for beginners, and more advanced training across two or three days for nurses, fire fighters, emergency doctors and cardiologists. This diversity is also reflected in the ERC database - which contains around 400,000 addresses, half of which belong to doctors, and the remainder to nurses, paramedics and emergency professionals - and in the range of delegates at the annual congress. Jeroen Janssens continues: “In the early years, ERC opted for a biennial congress. As the organisation became more established and our office staff expanded, it became possible to exchange knowledge in between the congress years as well. This was done through a smaller symposium. Since 2014, the congress has taken place annually, with a Guidelines Congress every five years, which attracts the biggest crowd.”

Compressions and breaths

“ERC started as a kind of 'salon des refusés' from the much larger European Society of Cardiology congress. The cardiologists at that congress didn't think all the fuss around resuscitation was worthy of their time, and rejected a separate working group on the subject. Leo Bossaert was enraged and stormed out following that decision. A little later, in a Viennese burger restaurant, he and five of his colleagues started making plans for a separate Council.” “Twenty-eight years later, we've become an established player in this discipline, and we're getting 1,400 delegates at our regular congress and up to 2,400 for a Guidelines Congress. The field of resuscitation is also evolving substantively: ‘compressions and breaths’ remains the basic tenet, but we're now also dealing with the high-tech AEDs that have started to appear.”

Leisure destinations

In the past few years, ERC congresses have been held in Stavanger, Ghent, Cologne, Porto, Valletta, Vienna, Krakow, Bilbao, Prague and Reykjavik. Freiburg will be hosting the congress in 2017, and it will be Bologna's turn the year after. Jeroen Janssens says: “Due to our size, we're holding events in places that aren't frequented by the large medical congresses. There are a number of benefits to this, both for our team and for the delegates, especially those who have to gain permission from their superiors before being allowed to travel.” “People are quick to associate Paris, London or Vienna with leisure. In the eyes of managers, these are fun places where you go to have a good time, and not to work or learn. This association is a bit less prominent with places like Stavanger, Cologne, Ghent or Krakow.” “The main disadvantage is that we have to pay for everything ourselves. The biggest congresses have such a significant economic impact that cities, regions or countries are prepared to provide assistance, for example by taking on the costs of the venue. However, we're some way from being a particularly sought-after event, and we're not sure we will ever get to that stage.” “I carried out a bit of an analysis on the evolution of congresses in the last few decades. What I found is that the big congresses keep getting bigger, and the small ones keep getting smaller. I'm not saying that I rush into a panic when attendance is lower than expected, but I am keeping an eye on the medium to long-term trends. One day, we may have to come up with something completely new. In any case, I don't want to be remembered as the congress manager who organised one too many congresses.”

Charm above all

Until a few years ago, ERC selected its congress hosts based on a limited number of bid books presented by the associated national councils, but this method has recently been thoroughly reviewed. According to Janssens, “These bid books didn't always result in interesting destinations. That's why we divided our territory into four zones and started making our own choice of destinations, which we try to rotate between north, south, east and west. The Congress Committee provides strategic guidance for the long term and approves the proposed destinations and budgets, the Organising Committee takes care of the practical realisation of the project, and the ERC board helps to decide the choice of host and provides scientific substance to the programme.” “This new method has allowed us to become a lot more dynamic, maintain better control over all kinds of geopolitical sensitivities, and monitor the individuality of the ERC Congress. Above all, we want to remain a charming congress to attend. The main scientific discussions are being held on another level and via different channels. On the one hand, the purpose of the ERC Congress is to build up and distribute knowledge, but on the other hand, it serves as a great opportunity to strengthen networks. Each edition of our congress has to be good enough for delegates to spontaneously say to others in their network, 'hey, you should attend this congress too, because you'll learn a lot while you're there, you'll get to know lots of great people, and above all, you'll have fun.'”

Secrets of the trade

A few years ago, ERC was successful in its application to join the Associations Conference Forum, an organisation for association planners that has the largest European congresses on its books. “It did cost us a fair bit, but you get a lot out of it in return”, Jeroen Janssens explains. “The backbone of the AC Forum is the Basecamp collaboration software. If you've got a question, you can just open it up to the group, and you'll soon receive valuable replies from colleagues sharing their previous experience. These questions may deal with pretty abstract matters as well as simple everyday things. Personally, I think this open exchange with colleagues is particularly valuable when dealing with new technologies. Does your congress need an app or not? And if so, how will that app be used during the congress? What are people who downloaded the app but not attending the congress doing? It is pretty useful to have the chance to throw these questions to colleagues before starting consultation with the board.” “I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the high level of collegiality and solidarity in the AC Forum. If someone in a certain city or venue is in trouble because local handlers are refusing to go anywhere near a forklift truck after half past four, this will be shared on the Forum within minutes. It's almost like the association planners are happy to share most secrets of the trade.”

Thinking in cities

The compact office team - ten men and women - occupies itself with a large range or tasks and responsibilities throughout the year, but becomes fully devoted to the congress as the event approaches. Jeroen Janssens explains: “We still manage to get everything done without having to call on the services of a PCO. We've built long-term relationships with our suppliers, which makes everything a little easier. Our exhibition is quite limited, remaining between 25 to 30 participating companies, with whom we maintain close contact. I'm personally familiar with all responsibilities, and a lot of things can be arranged on the go without the need for extensive consultations and discussions. Once I've got professional contacts for the venue and catering on board - their quality is actually more important to me than the city we happen to be in - we're starting to move in the right direction. But still... You'll never see me completely satisfied during a congress. For the first couple of hours, I’m quietly bricking it, year after year.” “For a few years now, I've got into the habit of travelling to the host city with my family a few months  ahead of the next congress. This way, you get to discover interesting places and nice restaurants, find out how public transport works and where to find a pharmacy. Delegates really appreciate it when you're able to share this type of information with them. Ten years as a planner at ERC has actually made me think in terms of cities: the birth of my children? My twins just before Malta, my daughter shortly after Bilbao. The first election of president Obama? One week after the Ghent congress!”