A groundbreaking industry gathering for Africa’s event organisers: 8-9 August 2025
THIS August, Cape Town will be host to a pioneering industry-first-of-its-kind event: the Festival of Eventing, an immersive, two-day gathering designed to unite, upskill, and inspire Event Management professionals and anyone involved in organising or hosting any type of large or small event across Africa’s eventing ecosystem.
Taking place in the heart of Cape Town at the Century City Conference Centre, this modern, high tech and sustainable venue could not be more fitting for this inaugural festival. With more than 1 000 attendees expected over two days, the festival promises not only innovation and practical insights from Africa’s top event leaders, creative visionaries, and global experts, but also a vibrant celebration of human connection.
Event Management: An Africa-centric event created by industry professionals
Founded by seasoned industry professionals Devi Paulsen-Abbott, Betty Sichivula, and Keshni Reddy, all of whom have extensive experience working with major trade show organisers, the Festival of Eventing is the result of years of shared vision and conversation.
“We realised that there was a big opportunity for professionals in the industry to build a community, firstly, and secondly to obtain the best practices, knowledge, training, and information around the sector’s trends,” says Paulsen-Abbott. “Many people don’t choose the events industry – they fall into it – with very little formal training and skills development support. Our aim is for the festival to be about personal development for professionals in the industry.”
She says that with Africa burgeoning as a continent with more events taking place, it’s an ideal space to connect eventing professionals across the continent.
More than a conference: An immersive, multi-sensory experience
Departing from traditional conference and exhibition formats, the festival’s showcase area has been designed to stimulate all five senses. Instead of shell-scheme booths, attendees can expect a fully immersive experience with interactive technology demonstrations, experiential elements, and innovation zones that invite touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell into the learning journey.
“We have some great entertainment lined up with some really nice tech surprises that will be sprinkled on our attendees throughout the experience. And a particularly exciting highlight will be a mini Metaverse event curated by one of our partners, Mann Made Media – the team behind Africa’s first metaverse,” says Paulsen-Abbott.
Event Management strategies for insightful learning and practical skills
The Festival of Eventing’s programme is extensive with over 70 local and international speakers already confirmed, plus approximately 100 different technologies will be showcased across the two days. Leadership focused discussions will take place in morning and afternoon sessions, and in-between, Masterclass Circles will focus on specific topics that promote leadership, engagement and innovative practices in the events industry.
Two dynamic keynote speakers who attendees can look forward to, are Lorne Sulcas (The Big Cat Guy) international speaker and game changer, exploring leadership lessons from the African bush, and Nikki Verd, a respected digital futurist discussing the human connection in a tech world. There are also speakers from Ghana, Uganda, Norway, and from Nigeria the executive director from the Centre for Disability and Inclusion Africa will speak on the important matter of catering for physically-challenged people at events.
Coinciding with South Africa’s Women’s Day on the Saturday, there are a number of women panels plus a celebration lined up for the industry.
A focus on pressing industry topics
“We don’t think enough about what an event needs to be representative of; the community that we’re serving,” says Paulsen-Abbott. “And especially around Women’s Month, you need to have a really good mix of culture, gender, and age on speaker panels. And then also presenting your events in a way that caters for everyone, is really important.”
There will be sessions around health and safety compliance in South Africa, sustainable event design, experiential marketing, event operations and strategy, and how to champion diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in a business and at events. And a representative from the South African Presidency, will lead a Masterclass course on protocol management for events that host VIPs.
Festival of Eventing: Where ideas ignite, leaders rise, and the future of events takes centre stage
The Festival of Eventing isn’t just for event agencies. The organisers have created a space for a broad range of professionals who influence, plan, or execute events in any format – from corporate marketing managers to executive assistants, freelancers, and even sporting event organisers.
With the many local and international partnerships supporting this upcoming Festival of Eventing, it is set to transform the future of eventing in Africa.
“It’s our aim to give people the opportunity to be more connected in terms of the incredible technology and the variety of services available to them in this industry, with the hope to make their lives easier, and enrich their experiences,” concludes Paulsen-Abbott.
For more info visit https://festivalofeventing.com/
