From organisational change to crisis communications, the burning question for EuroComm 2017 keynote speaker and communications consultant, Antonio Meza, concerns positive transformation, “Often when transformation happens, it triggers fear,” he says. Yet for the diverse crowd of business communicators gracing the contemporary offices of conference sponsors, Instinctif Partners, transformation is top of the agenda, despite the consequences.

Fitting then, that the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) EuroComm 2017 conference, held in London, follow a practitioner-led format, punctuated by a host of dynamic discussion panels, workshops and networking forums. The two-day conference juggled several topics, from governmental communications on Brexit, to the varied issues facing public sector communications.

Delegates alternated between two streams, each of which covered a different communication touchpoint during both the morning and afternoon sessions. Streams included organisational change, language and leadership and new communication platforms among others. Yet along with a host of topical talking points, EuroComm 2017 also featured its most influential collection of speakers to date. From Sheila Parry, managing director of internal comms agency, theblueballroom, to Louise Wadman, head of internal communications at Lloyds TSB, building organisational change must include tough times, strong characters and an employee-first mentality.

For IABC EMENA chair, Nikki Edwards, shining a spotlight on organisations is a key pillar to the success of the profession, “We thought long and hard about how to design an event that would be as up to date as possible, in terms of both the content and its delivery. We’ve had a remarkable two days of conversations, debate and discussion about where we are headed as a profession, and what we need to do to ensure that we keep on giving value to the organisations that we work for.”