On 15th November 2011 took place a Sustainable Events Workshop in the American University of Cairo (Egypt) organized by the UNEP / MAP Regional Activity Center for Cleaner Production (CP/RAC). The participants were 25 Egyptian professionals who work organizing events and meetings, both in public institutions (city councils, regional government, etc) and in private companies (travel agencies, hotel responsible for events, event management companies, etc).
The aim of the workshop was to give events organizers knowledge, tips and tools to organize more events in an environmentally-friendly way and the training combined theoretical and practical contents. The trainees were introduced to the concept of a sustainable event and its benefits and they analyzed the different impacts of an event, using the life cycle concept, and learned how to minimize them. The afternoon session was very interactive and it was focused in the different aspects of organizing a sustainable event (before, during and after the event itself) with useful and practical tools.
The speakers were Marta Anglada, researcher and project manager for UNESCO Chair for Life Cicle and Climate Change, consultant and communication director of Cyclus Vitae Solutions’ spin-off, co-author of the UNEP Green Meeting Guide and member of capacity building of Iberic Chapter of the Green Meeting Industry Council; and Maria Serentill, communication manager and project manager for Sustainable Events in the CP/RAC.
The Sustainable Events training was the first activity of the 3-days workshops Egypt Green Days, a CP/RAC initiative with the support from CEDARE and the American University in Cairo.