Change Starts Here at its core is about meeting with purpose and looking at what our clients and delegates can deliver from a social impact perspective. We see it as a visionary strategic movement designed to drive long-term business growth, community enrichment and industry evolution. Large or small business event impacts can make a difference to our world, and we are moving forward and adopting a ‘Change Starts Here’ mentality organisationally, within our city networks and more broadly on the global stage. We were proud recipients of awards that recognise this focus on purpose – the inaugural Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) and #MEET4IMPACT Impact Award and the Destinations International Organisational Leadership Award for Global Impact. Our Change Starts Here Agenda also took in the change we wanted to see in our own sector, as we partnered with the Professional Conference Management Association (PCMA) Foundation to undertake a global study into the advancement of women into leadership (Board and C-suite) roles in the business events industry. We discovered a 70:20 gender disparity and put out a challenge to the industry to become champions for diversity, equity and inclusion. We developed our First Nations Strategy which will be released in FY2024-2025 along with our Social Impact Strategy. We engaged a Social Impact Manager to help us lead a charge in uniting Sydney at all levels of government, academia and industry to make a difference. It’s an exciting time to be in this Image: Destination NSW