NOVEMBER 2016
| WORLD FERTILIZER |
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doing their best to make this happen and look after the
400 delegates at this year’s event.
Fundamentally, the conference runs on trust and
openness. The technical content is co-ordinated by the
producer group and it is an impressive programme.
However, it is not vetted excessively but rather is
self-policing and it does so very effectively. There is a
huge level of candour from many of the speakers who are
often not afraid to discuss sensitive issues in a bid to
help others to learn from their experiences.
David Hind chairs the technical programme with
finesse and is constantly encouraging delegates to
contribute. The first day begins with everyone in the
audience picking up the microphone and introducing
themselves to the rest of the group. This is unusual but as
David explained: "It closes the gap and demonstrates that
speaking in front of the group is not so terrifying”. It
is designed to open the door to dialogue and it
clearly works. Each paper lasts approximately 20
min. with 10 min. set aside for questions and the
allocated time is nearly always filled with delegates
keen to get their questions heard or provide useful
feedback and comment. Again uniquely, speakers
are introduced by first name rather than academic
or professional titles and with little mention of
their often impressive resumes. David explained
that this is very much intentional and seeks to
“level the playing field and open the door to
greater networking opportunities”.
The casual atmosphere of the conference is also
an important part of the event. Every delegate is
given an ANNA sweatshirt and the majority wear
them throughout the week with this uniform
helping to engender the concept of the delegates
being as one during their time at the conference.
“The backbone to the ANNA Conference is that
it is run on trust. I trust that the exhibit hall will
work. Do we do different things in the exhibit hall
than other events? The answer is yes.” And David is
right, it is different in its approach and the resulting
level of networking is impressive as a result. It is
rare to see delegates standing alone. Most are
locked deep in individual conversations or engaged
in discussions with larger groups.
This is the ‘ANNA difference’ and it is a formula
that clearly works. Asked for his personal highlights,
David is quick to say that what gives him most
pleasure after all the hard work is simply to “stand and
look at the group and see the amount of conversations
going on. Everyone talks to each other. That is the
highlight, the fact that people are networking. However,
what I really want to achieve out of the conference is
one less safety incident. That’s what I really hope we get
out of it. One generation passing on its knowledge to the
next and being able to improve the overall industry in
terms of environment and safety.”
Next stop for the ANNA Conference is Austin in Texas
in September 2017 – there is no doubt it will be as
successful and welcoming as Eindhoven 2016.
Note
For further information about ANNA, please visit:
Figure 2.
The ANNA 2017 conference will take place in Austin,
Texas.
