On November 16, 2023, nearly 1000 participants entered the Fokker terminal in The Hague to embark on a historic journey at the Annual Festival in honor of the 25th anniversary of ECP | Platform for the Information Society. With the theme ‘Journey through Time,’ highlights like the introduction of the first mobile phone, the rise of computers, and even Hyves were brought to life. The central opening, in the presence of none other than the king, set the tone for a day filled with knowledge, togetherness, connection, and festivity.
ECP, a collaboration of various programs and coalitions, connects people across science, government, societal organizations, and businesses. It serves as the platform for exchanging knowledge and collectively shaping our digital future. The festival brought together all disciplines to reflect on the remarkable evolution of digitalization in our society, looking back and ahead. The event featured a strong and substantive program, including plenary sessions and breakout sessions on various digitalization themes. From sessions, workshops, and lectures to discussion tables, handovers, elections, and launches. The result? A rich blend of knowledge sharing and excellent networking opportunities.
“That’s the beauty of the Annual Festival; All topics, including those previously highlighted in organized events, converge and (final) presentations are given. The most interesting subjects are publicly exhibited. The program is very diverse, and it’s fascinating to see how everything comes together at one event.”
We interviewed Timothy from ECP to learn more about the event and his experiences with aanmelder.nl:
You used Event Management and Event Check-In for the event. Were there any special considerations when you chose these products?
“For us, it was mainly about support. I am responsible for coordination at ECP and our central contact person for aanmelder.nl. This way, anyone with questions gets quick answers. I often get questions about how something works exactly. I solve some points myself, but for others, I refer people to the support department. They are quick to help and they also think along with the user. We are very positive about that.”
And how do you like the products?
“Event Management has a user-friendly interface. It is clear, for example, in terms of steps to take. For instance, we create an event by cloning an old one and adjusting it. That works great. You don’t have to make many adjustments. If you look at the software, it is easy and all the steps are clearly laid out. Even for those less familiar with the software. Creating messages and creative design: you can do a lot with it. For example, we wanted to format messages and provide certain choices in the registration form. Basically, everything we wanted to do, we could, and setting it up was smooth. We didn’t encounter many problems with the software, so it just works well for us.”
Great! Do you have any feedback points for us?
- Not really, sometimes something doesn’t work and then we call support. For example, at an event, something went wrong with the badges, but the engineer responded immediately, so it was quickly resolved.
- Some things, like formatting a table of times, can be tricky with the software. Users either need more experience or have a different expectation of how something will look with the software.
“But that’s also the beauty of aanmelder.nl: we want this, and if that’s not possible, then we see if it would be widely used by us and if custom work is needed. There is always a solution for the problem.”
Thank you! Do you maybe have tips or insights you want to share with other event managers who are starting with aanmelder.nl?
“What we are doing now, internally, is designing different templates so everyone works with the same templates. This ensures consistency. We are quite experienced in the system now and that’s why we want to set it up easier for ourselves so everyone at ECP can use it. We are actually making a professionalization move and trying to involve more colleagues from other projects.”
“There are so many functions in the system. I’ve had colleagues who couldn’t see the forest for the trees. If we already have a lot configured for others, then they can get started faster and more easily. “
Great tips! Will the Annual Festival take place again in 2024?
“At the end of this year, we will organize the Annual Festival again, and of course, we will use aanmelder.nl again.”
Thanks!
About ECP:
ECP | Platform for the Information Society is an independent and neutral platform. ECP brings together government, academia, business, education, and social organizations to exchange knowledge and collaborate towards a trustworthy, promising, and resilient digital society.
Credits Image credit: ECP | Platform of the Information Society. Photos were taken by Sander Stoepker and Paul Ridderhof.