BizBash's 10 Most Innovative Meetings 2022 is sponsored by Quest Events, MyClearText, AccessLOOP, and GTHER.
The basics: Forbes’ inaugural 30/50 Summit took place in March 2022 in Abu Dhabi. The 350-person event brought together honorees from both the Forbes 30 Under 30 list—a decade-old honor for young entrepreneurs and leaders—and the two-year-old Forbes 50 Over 50 list, which spotlights women who are breaking age and gender norms across industries.
“The idea originated with Forbes chief content officer Randall Lane and Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski and her Know Your Value initiative," explained Leann Bonanno, group vice president of ForbesLive. "We wanted to create a gathering to harness the power of both generations. The inaugural 30/50 Summit, hosted on International Women’s Day (March 8), brought together these two communities so that women could forge new cross-generational bonds and foster meaningful life-long relationships." 
Speakers spanned multiple industries and countries, including the likes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tyra Banks, and Her Royal Highness Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud AlSaud.Photo: Courtesy of Forbes
Fostering connections: All of the event’s programming and related experiences aimed to inspire lasting impact and connections—and also provide a rich cultural immersion in the city of Abu Dhabi. "We offered attendees various opportunities including local tours, an opening gala at Qasar Al-Watan (the Presidential Palace), a day of programming at the Louvre, a day of service at Zayed University, a fashion show featuring global fashion designers, and a closing desert celebration event," said Bonanno.
Programming wise, highlights included an interactive town hall with Secretary Clinton, cross-general conversations with women who made the two lists, and the first-ever Forbes 30/50 Changemaker Awards, which honored two human rights activists. 
"To quote an attendee, 'magic happens in the room when cultures, talent, and perspectives are united,'" said Bonanno. "Providing cultural experiences to our attendees has been a hallmark across Forbes global events."Photo: Courtesy of Forbes
Cross-generational mentoring: Throughout the summit, there were also multiple mentor-mentee connections that were facilitated in person and on the Brella platform. “The idea of mentorship was a key component for the launch of this summit and community," explained Bonanno. "We know when women support other women, the opportunities are limitless—and especially across generations."
It was also an appropriate event component due to the way the lists had been compiled. "One of the criteria the Forbes editorial team uses to assess listmakers is a pay-it-forward mindset. It is important for us to recognize women who are not only looking to advance their own careers, but are using their platforms to make life better for the women they mentor and for generations to come.”
In another "pay-it-forward" idea, event attendees presented five-minute lessons on something they’ve mastered, that were then shared across Forbes’ global platforms and broadcast on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. And on International Women's Day, Clinton herself connected with 16 select summit attendees for intimate one-on-one mentoring sessions. 
Abu Dhabi will host the annual summit until 2024. "Not only has the region become the new crossroads for global travel allowing women to travel to the event from all over the world," said Bonanno, but "the city serves as a supportive backdrop to foster an environment and conversation around gender equality and advancing women’s empowerment.”Photo: Courtesy of Forbes
Launching a new event: “There are always challenges when launching a brand-new franchise and global summit, especially in a new market—from learning the local culture, to planning logistics across time zones, to recruiting new speakers," said Bonanno, adding that it was especially challenging coming out of nearly two years without in-person events.
The team also worked hard to make the gathering as safe as possible for the 350 attendees, who joined from nearly 30 countries. "We did this by hosting many of the event activities outdoors in the beautiful climate in Abu Dhabi. All attendees were also required to be vaccinated and we offered daily testing," she noted.
Key takeaways: Bonanno is eager to build on the event's success in future years. "We are excited to build on this community and continue to spotlight women who exemplify the notion that it is never too late to achieve your goals," she said. "We look forward to building on the momentum and creating more opportunities for the women within the Forbes Under 30 and Forbes Over 50 communities to connect all over the world. By doing so, we hope to create meaningful change for all women as we head into next year and in years to come."
Learn more about our sponsors:
Quest Events is a go-to event rental partner for industry professionals based in North America. With locations across the U.S. and service capabilities in Canada, look no further for effective and efficient pipe and drape services, as well as scenic, decor, and furnishing solutions across the AV, hospitality, corporate, wedding, and exhibition industries.
MyClearText elevates events no matter the format with high-quality human captioning in real-time. Thanks to the team’s 50-plus years of technical expertise, MyClearText captions are produced at the speed of up to 300 words per minute, delivered at 99% accuracy contextually and grammatically.
AccessLOOP is a leader in adding accessibility features to all livestreamed and virtual events (think: human captioning, live sign language, translations in more than 100 languages, and more). It’s a simple workflow—the browser-based software links to your source stream and stream destinations, loops in your preferred providers, and allows you to set your on-screen layout.
GTHER is a next-gen event experience platform that’s designed to evolve with the ever-changing industry by bringing virtual event functionalities into one place. Referred to as “the Swiss army knife of virtual experience platforms,” GTHER allows its users to chat, livestream, stream real-time content, host networking sessions, create a custom-branded space, and so much more.
