PCMA Convening Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) 2026 kicked off in Lisbon, Portugal. The event’s list of speakers included Dr. Poornima Luthra, senior faculty at Imperial Business School; futurist Anne Lise Kjaer, the author of “The Trend Management Toolkit: A Practical Guide to the Future”; Felix Rundel, CEO of futurehain, who moderated the event; and PCMA CEO Sherrif Karamat.
The right destination sets the stage for discovery. Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL) served as the jumping off point for PCMA Convening Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in Lisbon, Portugal, this week. It is the newest section of a 3,200-year-old city that has proved resilient through natural disasters and conquest from all sides, with Phoenicians, Romans and Moors ruling in turn, leaving traces in the architecture, cuisine and culture. Portugal is proud of its unique language (though English, Spanish and French are also common) and traditions and the capital city area on the banks of the Tagus River is home to more than 3 million people with hospitality as the major economic engine.
FIL is the centerpiece of the reinvention of a neglected industrial area on the water that hosted World Expo 1998: The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future with an emphasis on putting the buildings to work once the exhibitions left town. The modern halls now serve as a convention center, an oceanarium (one of the largest aquariums in Europe), Park of Nations plaza, MEO Arena and a mall. MEO has grown into an international business center, hosting 150 events a year, including 70,000 at the annual Lisbon Web Summit. All of this is visible from another vestige preserved after the global gathering, Telecabine Lisboa, an aerial tram with stunning views of the port and city beyond.
Read More: Highlights from IMEX Frankfurt 2026
As in the rest of the city, art is big and public. Park of Nations features an oversize Iberian lynx made of recovered plastic from the ocean. The colorful Bordalo II sculpture is a statement to resiliency as the big cats have come back from extinction with human help.
Integrity, Connection, Future
Like FIL, PCMA EMEA was an experiential take on building a better tomorrow. The themes: integrity, connection and future played out on the main stage and in interactive micro-labs and workshops.
Connection was in the middle of the domed expo hall as bringing people together for meaningful discussion has shifted from a byproduct of a good event—networking as a nice-to-have—to the most valuable outcome in a world of AI fatigue. As PCMA EMEA Managing Director Jamie Bennett said, “We need to build trust, human connections that lasts and purposeful engagement. Those are the tools that will help us cut through the noise to make better choices.”
Integrity kicked off the conversations as Dr. Poornima Luthra, senior faculty at Imperial Business School, shared practical strategies for embedding inclusion into business culture. “We have to foster trust, belonging and collaboration in an increasingly fragmented world,” explained the author of “Can I Say That?” Embracing diverse perspectives is an essential part of building a better future.
Futurist Anne Lise Kjaer, the author of “The Trend Management Toolkit: A Practical Guide to the Future,” also focused on actionable tools to prepare for whatever comes next through scenario-planning, not predictions. Her 4P framework balances people, planet, purpose and profit.
Event moderator Felix Rundel, CEO of futurehain, was optimistic about the ability to reframe. “Proactive focus on what we want the future to look like can shift it from a violent wave happening to people to something we can actively shape together by training our futures muscles and employing a future mindset.”
PCMA CEO Sherrif Karamat was bullish on the ability of people to have positive impact when they come together. “Knowledge doesn’t have borders,” he said. “Connections don’t have borders. We can’t let artificial things divide us.”
Read More: Straight Talk: Sherrif Karamat on Consolidation and Climate Change
Then he announced that PCMA EMEA 2027 will reconvene in Seville, Spain, Sept. 14-15.
Convene for Climate
Co-located with PCMA AMEA was Convene 4 Climate, a global platform and movement aimed at accelerating the transition of the business events industry into a catalyst for sustainability, progress and inspiration.
Voices of action included Nobel Peace Prize awardee Kristen Averyt, executive vice president at the American Geophysical Union. She was also a contributing scientist to the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The movement came out of The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe, a network of national destination marketing organizations including Foundational Partners, Destination Canada, Failte Ireland, Marina Bay Sands and United Airlines. The initiative operates on the credo: “driven by responsibility, fueled by technology to deliver transformation.”
