EEMAX Global Conclave and Awards celebrated women in event industry

The EEMAX Global Conclave and Awards organized by the apex body for events and entertainment in the country Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) on the September 8-10, 2017 at Pullman Hotel, Aerocity came to a grand closure with the EEMAX Global Conclave and Awards at the Kingdom of Dreams.

The annual conclave and awards were targeted at the events and experiential industry within India held under the theme "A Decade Of Transformation" with a prime focus on celebrating women in the event industry.

Curtains came down with the EEMAX GLOBAL AWARDS'17 ceremony which was held on a grand scale with only women from the industry solely carrying out the overall presentation on stage.

Hosted by Brian Tellis, who went on to explain, "The evening's entertainment is an effort in storytelling. Stand-up comedy met Dance and acapella vocals. The result is a compelling story and a unique format."

A Total of 84 awards in over 29 categories were announced; 21 Gold, 34 silver and 31 Bronze. The most coveted lifetime achievement award was given to Michael Menezes of Showtime Events.

Talking about the 10th Edition of EEMAGINE 2017, Sabbas Joseph, President EEMA and Director Wizcraft International expressed, "It is a milestone for EEMA and being an industry with an equal number of men and women workforce it is our interest that our women has equal footing and say in the industry. Also, it is imperative that their safety and equality is taken care of considering this is an industry that works 24/7. When we curated our sessions it was our intention that we have our women in the forefront of all our major line ups."

Earlier, in the day motivational speaker, Mark Inglis stole the hearts of the audience as he spoke about Life Transformation while Laura Mackenzie -Stuart, Director -Creative Scotland of 70 years of Edinburgh as a festival city kept the house glued talking about Transformation through Culture.

Other speakers of the day included, Dilip Cherian, Communication Consultant and Political Campaign Advisor, Roma Balwani, President Group Communications, CSR & Sustainability, Vedanta Group, Sonia Huria, Senior VP and Head - Communications & CSR, Viacom 18 who spoke about Transforming Public Opinion.

In its 10th year, EEMA now represents India's event industry as its apex body, with a membership of 300 companies. The National Executive Committee, The National Advisory Council and the National and Regional Working Committees, make up an astounding 150 members.

Spread over three days, the annual gala fiesta began with Eduposium; an initiative to enlighten the young minds with the current scenario and future opportunities of the ever expanding event industry.

Day 2 had a 3km We Care Walk around Aerocity, an initiative to reiterate EEMA's commitment for gender equality and a safe working environment for women followed by the EEMAGINE 2017 inaugural. Interesting sessions on Culture, Sports, Arts, Festivals, Technology, Wedding and Culinary highlighting their Transformation with respected speakers like Joy Bhattarcharya Project Director for FIFA U-17. The evening witnessed pioneers like AR Rahman in conversation with Roshan Abbas and Babul Supriyo being an integral part of the celebrations. The EEMA coffee table book encapsulating the journey of events in India was also launched in their presence.

The SPOTLIGHT Awards also held on Day 1 brought out the backstage heroes who have been the very backbone of the event industry. The glorious night appreciated, applauded and honored the back stage partners with Gold and Silver under 29 categories. Magical performances by Monali Thakur and Usha Uthup added to the pompous ceremony.

The never seen before HAKA dance performance; a warrior dance from the ancient areas of New Zealand was another exotic highlight of the conclave. 

-ANI