Caitlin Lamont, Director, Strategic Events, University of Calgary
Audrey Taylor-Bereznicki, Associate Director, Alumni Leadership Engagement & Recognition, University of Calgary
PIVOT – a word that, for many of us, has been used more in 2020 than ever before. While the pandemic has changed the way that we work and live, it has also had an enormous impact on the way that we celebrate and come together. For the University of Calgary, 2020 was meant to be a year of celebration and gratitude – we closed the third largest campaign in Canadian history – with a grand total of $1.41B on June 30 and were planning the 36th Annual Arch Awards to recognize some of our most visionary alumni on September 10. Both of these celebrations began with a vision of bringing our community together physically and engaging our alumni, donors and friends in high touch social gatherings where the best of UCalgary was right in front of them; however this was not to be. COVID-19 has challenged programming and event specialists all over the world to rethink their work and create virtual experiences that still leave audiences feeling connected. In this webinar, learn how UCalgary transformed two high profile in-person celebrations into high impact virtual experiences.