TURNING CRISIS INTO OPPORTUNITY

We all remember the challenges businesses faced back in 2020 and 2021—the COVID years. One of the hardest-hit industries was the events sector, with in-person gatherings coming to an abrupt halt overnight. For organisations that relied on physical events, this created a real crisis.

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Women Political Leaders (WPL), a relatively new not-for-profit based in Brussels, found itself in exactly this situation. Their flagship event, the Reykjavík Global Forum, brought together women leaders from across sectors. The forum was gaining momentum and impact, but with only three years under its belt, the 2020 event was critical for the organisation’s growth and continued influence. By the summer of 2020, it became clear that any physical event was out of the question, and the only option was to go virtual.

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That’s when Samantha was brought in to manage this transition—and she quickly saw the opportunity that the virtual forum presented.

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Rather than focusing on the limitations, Samantha looked at the advantages of going virtual. She transitioned the entire organisation into the virtual world, implementing teamwork software that allowed staff to collaborate daily, despite being miles apart and also allowed the organisation to recruit from a global talent pool. 

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For the event itself, Samantha capitalised on the new format. Speakers who had previously been unable to attend due to time commitments were now available, and as a result, the 2020 forum attracted high-profile names like Hillary Clinton and Melinda Gates.

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To maintain the event's exclusive feel, Samantha ensured that networking was still a core component. A closed networking platform was created for attendees, preserving the intimate, high-impact connections that had become a hallmark of the forum. Meanwhile, the main stage was broadcast to a much larger audience than ever before, increasing the event’s reach significantly.

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And it didn’t stop there. Because the event was recorded, it could be accessed on-demand, allowing the content to live on and engage new viewers long after the forum had wrapped up. 

The result? Not only did the Reykjavík Global Forum 2020 successfully overcome the challenges of the pandemic, but it became WPL's most successful forum. It helped ensure an ongoing commitment from the Icelandic government to continue to host future events and also helped WPL secure the largest grant in the organisation's history. It showed the organisation how it could recruit the best talent globally rather than rely on the talent pool in Brussels and to this day the organisation remains a truly global one. 

 

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