I did a lot of things during my holiday and I am going to talk about them.

The first thing I am going to talk about is my Xbox. The games I like to play on my Xbox are: FIFA 11, Call Of Duty BlackOps and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. On Call Of Duty there is a thing called Xbox Live. This allows us to verse other people around the world. It’s amazing because you can talk to friends online. There is a headset that connects to the controller which somehow picks up the sound of your friends’ voices.

The next thing I want to talk about is going to this awesome park in Newington. It’s a pretty long drive from [where I live] but the drive is worth it. They have these steep hills and 3 awesome slides. They have very tall swings that are lots of fun. There they have this rope that is like a long and tall hammock that spreads across 2 hills. They also have this very long flying fox. I know the park sounds boring but it’s really loads of fun. It’s a great park for all ages.

The last thing I want to talk about is seeing Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2. It was really a great movie which my mum took me to see. My brother was seeing it with his mates at Castle Towers. My mum and I went to see it at Auburn. My favourite character would have to be Neville Longbottom. He has a funny name but I don’t really care what people’s names are. I don’t judge a book by its cover. In the end, Neville was very brave.

I had a great holiday.
– By Zach Foster, aged 9

How times change. Remember when you were a kid you’d disappear for the day, only coming home for lunch or dinner. And when it was raining you’d watch tv all day! My son’s recount of his latest holiday (in at work with me today because the teachers are having a staff development day... whatever that is), really does show what a different world we’re living in. The Xbox video game and its capabilities are incredible. His brother, now 14, doesn’t use a telephone to organise outings with friends. He does it online when he and his mates are playing games together – him at our house and them in theirs. If my kids want to watch something on TV they often record it on our Foxtel iQ so they can fast-forward through the adverts. They even use Skype to chat to friends, and the 14-year-old has a Facebook account (carefully monitored by mum).

So why am I saying this? Because the world is a vastly different place and event planners, and particularly meeting planners, are facing incredible challenges to keep the next generation of delegates motivated, interested and informed. Like talking with friends through Xbox and Facebook the desire to meet should remain. But how it’s done effectively will require plenty of trial and error.

If you have any ideas on the future of events feel free to email me today on brad@btp.net.au. I welcome your feedback.

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