Vision 2020 Feedback

Without feedback, we cannot improve and each year we truly value and appreciate the time attendees take to give us their thoughts whether positive or negative. Our 2020 event was something completely different to what we are used to delivering and whilst it had its many logistical and technical challenges, we could not be more pleased with the outcome.

The feedback received for our first Virtual Trade Event has been overwhelmingly positive; respondents could choose from Excellent > Very poor, with 65% of attendees rating their overall experience ‘excellent’ and 35% ‘good’.

Whilst we cannot compare this event with any other, with it being our first; there are conclusions we can draw from the feedback received and indeed improvements we can make for both physical and virtual events in the future. Here are some of the specific areas we will explore:

More Virtual Events
Overwhelmingly, 96% of attendees would like to see the ICA deliver more virtual events particularly whilst Covid-19 significantly restricts international travel and events. We plan to build upon the success of Chats for Change by reigniting the ICAspire initiative; providing young professionals and those new to the industry with a platform to learn, develop and network. Both Chats for Change and ICAspire will play a vital role in our 2021 Virtual Events Programme along with our online training modules which are currently in the early stages of development.

We will also explore the feasibility of hosting virtual sessions which would be of interest to the wider cotton community such as a quarterly market discussion; drawing upon the expertise of Board and Committee members.

Networking
We saw a high degree of engagement with our speakers at Vision 2020, but we have identified that we can improve engagement amongst attendees. We will explore ways in which we can make virtual networking a reality, using matchmaking technology and breakout rooms.

Live Stream
At Singapore 2021 we will introduce a live stream of all keynote sessions, making our event more accessible to the entire cotton community. We will explore ways in which this can be achieved without impacting on the physical attendees’ experience and value for money.

Time-zone Planning
We will explore the possibility of delivering coordinated events at times designed to meet the needs of both an Asian audience, and North America. This may lead towards holding the same virtual event twice, tailored for separate audiences. Or holding different events, depending on the focus audience.