ECCNA31 Birmingham
Final Report
Chair
The convention was a huge success, we had well over2000 attendee’s from all over Europe and the world, the shares were well received and the EDM delegates were happy with the facilities. Many newcomers were at the event who were blown away by the love that was shown to them and they left the convention with the hope that they too can recover. Our committee bonded well together and when faced with difficulties we remained unified and always found a solution to how best serve our fellowship.
It was a great privilege to bring the European Convention to Birmingham, England and know that we as a committee put on a great show and was able to produce a sizeable profit to enable the EDM to further carry our message.
We had a few complaints regarding one of our speakers at the event but have asked that these are directed to the EDM rather than the convention committee.
Finance
Income £73,083.64 (including the seedcorn funding from EDM and UK Region)
Expenditure -£55,121.57 (including returning the seedcorn funding).
------
Surplus £17,962.07
The EDM were very clear that we had to budget for a number of 1,200 members attending and that set the cost of registration. However, because we had so many more attendees we ended up with a sizeable profit.
(Spreadsheet attached)
Stewarding
What worked well
1 - A strong committee during the convention (vice chair andthree team leaders) that worked well organising members volunteering to do service.
2 -Team leaders to help the chair and vice chair to organise stewards and solve problems
3 - Meeting and greeting when members arrived through the hotel door
4 - Great effort and attitude of all the members that helped out
5 - Stewarding committee being included in meeting with hotel for input into potential difficult areas and making contacts with hotel staff that helped during the convention.
6 - Supporting hotel staff to manage the entrance and smoking area.
What could have gone better
1 - Planning for the final meeting (closing share and clean time countdown etc.)A learning point for future conventions would be to consider the numbers of addicts attending and the maximum capacity the room for final meeting can handle. If the venue is large enough no problem. If not one/two door(s) only to be used for entry/exit, count the number of people in and out stamping folks that go out and want to get back in. Therefore ensuring fire regulations are met and maintaining relationship with venue.
We would suggest splitting the committee into two:
1) Stewards to meet/greet and show addicts around the venue
2) Task force to help with managing numbers of addicts, queues, entry and exit to large meetings/banquet, supporting hotel staff to manage numbers of addicts in certain areas (eg. hotel front and smoking area, also to run errands to support other committees.
Translation
We translated into 7 different languages, used only around 50 headsets at any one given time. Used 2 sets of the tour guide equipment at the banquet we which proved to be a really good idea.
The service was greatly appreciated by most who used it and others who just appreciated the inclusivity of it.
With regards to learning it may have been a good idea to communicate directly with the regional service committees of each country to assess how many people were likely to attend from each country. I had made the assumption that a fairly large number would attend from one particular country, hiring headsets to accommodate this, but that was not the case.
A significant number of people were only interested in having translation for main evening meetings.
We made use of all four booths for the majority of main meetings often with demand for more.
We found and returned all equipment to provider so were only charged the quoted fee.
All in all a great success
Programming
We felt as a committee that the programme ran very smoothly. The hotel were hugely accommodating with any special requests that popped up during the event.
The shares were spectacular and the positive feedback was immense.
We were very disappointed with the requests from the EDM's for shares. We had 4 suggestions 3 of which were RD's.
Having had time to reflect we think the programme was exactly what the EDM asked for, all European shares, which made it a truly unforgettable convention.
We would like to thank all those that help us source shares and chair meetings
Entertainment
We danced, laughed, played table tennis, bent into shapes, done Zumba and meditated...
All in all... We had fun
Recording
The recording committee had no issues to speak of and the equipment performed accordingly.
Thanks to the programming, all recordings were processed and sent to the Web chair for distribution well ahead of the expected time.
All in all the shares observed the “no swearing” policy reasonably well and there was no real need to go back and edit speakers.
Registration
There was a total of 1991 registered on the sheets. Some people may have not written their names down so I feel it would be safe to say there were a minimum of 2000 attendees. (Partners and non addicts did not register). The busiest day was Friday when over 800 people registered. There were two rehabs with 17 clients and the rest had between 7 and 9 clients.
Many of the EDM delegates had not pre-registered as we expected so their registration may have taken a little more time than expected.
No one was turned away and the newcomers fund worked well to make up the registration fee for those under 30 days who could not afford to pay the full amount, other members were very generous putting into the newcomer’s fund. Most reduction requests were for those who were unwaged rather than newcomers.
What went well:
- The registration was fully manned at all times and the members of the local fellowship who organised the rota for people to do service did an amazing job!
- Notices put up by the hotel and the stewards also helped this immensely
- Having the different coloured wristbands for day passes being given out by the people taking the money meant the people further down the line knew what coloured pass to give which also sped the process up; also people noticing the colours were different encouraged many to pay for the weekend rather than the day.
- Communicating with rehabs that contacted us prior to the event also helped speed the process as when they turned up they only had to say who they were as we already had the names of the organisation and the numbers attending.
- Pre-registration was very smoothly done by the website committee
What could we have done better:
- The two people who had nominated themselves to help newcomers were sat in a different area to registration.
- There were some beautiful moments at the registration desk over the weekend; one memory that will always stay with me was the chap who came in on the Friday desperately trying to get clean who I saw on the Saturday outside proudly telling me that he had been begging in Birmingham on Saturday morning to get the train fare back to the convention rather than score and the we saw him again on the Sunday bringing his parents in to the Families Anonymous meeting with a big smile on his face ☺. Moments like that were wonderful and there were many of them
Website
The domain name registered and Wordpress was used to author the site. The software also facilitated translation of the website content into many different languages as well as allowing us to accept PayPal payments for merchandise sales and pre-registration. The EDM was asked, via the UK Regional Delegates, if a generic domain could be set up (i.e. ECCNA.EU) for future European Conference/Conventions so that a static URL could be maintained for all future ECCNAs.
Website Content
The website team developed the site to create sections of content for accommodation and travel information as well as for hospitality, merchandise and pre-registration sales. The full programme went online prior to the convention and shares were added afterwards.
Other Ad-hoc Duties
Monthly emails were sent to all pre-registered delegates to encourage purchase of the exclusive pre-registration merchandise which boosted sales. All pre-registered delegates were sent information prior to the event which helped expedite matters when they arrived at the registration desk. Emails also sent out to PR workshop attendees and all those who had failed to complete their pre-registration.
Issues/Comments
There were some issues in releasing funds from PayPal but we were able to resolve this fairly quickly. A lot of technical issues seemed to fall on the website committee’s shoulders at times when they weren’t necessarily anything to do with the website so we would suggest having a Technical Committee for future events that could accommodate the audio/visual side of things.
Arts & Graphics
Original flyers were sent to ECCNA30 in Athens and a video produced to complement the flyers. A range of 2015 calendars, Christmas cards, birthday cards and magnets were all sold at the NYE Fundraiser and our members seemed to really enjoy the novelty aspect of them. Hosting small stalls at local conventions also publicised the convention within the UK.
By undertaking the complete design and proofing process ourselves, we saved money in that the printers did not need to make any technical changes to any of the artwork provided as we had precisely met their specifications.
The cost of all of our banners, programmes, lanyard inserts, pop ups and registration banner came to a total of £1,593.00.
Many of the merchandise designs were changed or recreated to comply with constraints the various manufacturing processes involved. Many designs had to be converted into vector format. Mock-ups of many of the designs were created for website and merchandise banner.
RD's were asked if they could bring reading cards in their language to be used at the convention, however we did not receive any despite our requests. Digital Display Graphics and PowerPoint slides were created to provide display graphics on the large screens in the Palace Suite during speeches, region recognition and the clean time countdown.
Merchandise
The committee worked well together with good effective communication. Arts and graphics and the website committee supported us and we are thankful to them. Our aim was to produce a range of merchandise suitable for different budgets and to hopefully raise 30% profit on items which we achieved.
Positives
- Prior to convention the merchandise committee attended a few conventions / unity days to introduce the bird design but also to chat to members about the convention, flyers were also distributed at events which was helpful as some areas hadn't received information.
- Members loved the bird design. The rota was well attended mainly with a broad range of members from accords Europe.
- It was lovely to serve with willing European members and talk to members from all over the world in the merchandise room.
- The NAWS approved vendors stock was also received well and between us and the vendor we offered a large range of NA merchandise
Negatives
- The committee felt we could have produced a larger more effective range had we had clarity regarding designs and amount to spend earlier.
- The PayPal machine didn't work in the hotel and we did have a few complaints about this.
- The vendor had different ideas to us regarding selling space amongst other things. We think it would be a good idea for future ECCNA Committees to have a written agreement with vendors so boundaries are agreed before convention starts
Hospitality & Info
We enjoyed our participation in an amazing convention.
We had a number of leaflets, maps and information from Birmingham City Bureau.
The direction videos on the website and program were well received by many and proved to be very useful to assist those travelling to find the venue with ease.
We had some initial involvement with individual registrants who had problems associated with their amended bookings at the hotel not being quite as they thought they were.
Situated in the foyer enabled us to observe the general proceedings of registration for the convention and hotel check in etc. At no time did we observe any significant congestion, agitation, or unrest confirming the efficiency and effectiveness of the stewards.
The lack of complaints and ‘chunters’ we received was testament to the efficiency and effectiveness of our committee. It seems the decisions made to highlight local attractions and not to put on formal excursions was right.
We did a lot of research and planning that proved unnecessary and we feel blessed to have been part of such a memorable event.
H&I Link Up
During the months before the convention, there was a lack of response from members we had previously contacted regarding H+I link-up, however, has a result of the poor communications we decided to concentrate on the one prison which was HMP Bronzefield, who were really helpful and pleased to be part of this convention. The committee will send a letter or email from ECCNA, thanking the prison for their support.
The H+I workshop was encouraging and invaluable in carrying the message and also in making members aware of the various ways the message can get carried. The attendance was good and the response from members interested in sponsoring people in prisons was great. UK’s first live video prison link-up went really well and the response from the prisoners was one to remember. Basic texts, H+I t-shirts and bags were donated to the prisoners that participated.
PR Report
ECCNA PR organised 3 events:
- Roundtable Discussions
- Presentation to Professionals
- NA Workgroup for Members.
Roundtable attendance: 23 Professionals including NOMS, CRI, Criminal Justice and Local Commissioners.
Presentation to Professionals: Approximately 90 attendees, including Commissioners, CRI, Lifeline staff and national and international professionals from the sector.
Feedback: Professionals appreciated Goldfish bowl meetings as helped to clarify what clients may experience at an NA meeting.
NAWorkgroup: Presented by UKPI. Feedback: NA members would prefer more interactive and focused workgroups.
Recommendations: Contact list of individuals from UKPI or Region, as we struggled to obtain contacts from committees. For each PR/PI event our audience needs to be identified and our events should be focused on their potential needs Digitize information so that it is easily understood and accessible via basecamp or UKNA website re-evaluation of what NA members currently need, as opposed to what we have always done, i.e. training sessions with Q+A role-play etc.
What members would like to see more of:
- New workshops/ workgroups aimed at training new PI members with a template of HOW we present to professionals and suggestion to spend half the time in smaller workgroups as opposed to presentation format Regional workgroups
- More access to Basecamp section for new PI committee members to allow learning and sharing of info for growth
Failings: No press attended. Nationals and regional newspapers and outlets contacted however no press attended: Media strategy needs attention. UKPI media liaison was away during ECCNA, but suggest working closely with media liaison in future.
Successes: Liaised with Brazil PR/PI before ECCNA, working relationships established with WS PR. Template created which has already been shared with Egypt and will be forwarded to EDM and WS as requested. Overall professionals have given great feedback thus far, and our PR report will be finished by October and forwarded to UKPI and Region, EDM and WS.
Crèche
The Crèche ran smoothly over the course of the weekend, both rooms were used to their full potential and feedback from delegates were excellent.
Hotel Liaison
The Hotel did all they could to help us in running a successful convention. There were issues early on in the convention regarding bookings. The menu for the banquet was appreciated and seemed to work. The rooms were adequate for holding the meetings. There seemed to be enough space for all that wanted to attend. Overall the hotel responded to requests adequately and timely.
Thank You on behalf of the ECCNA31 Committee for allowing us to be of service
In Love & Fellowship
Stevie Dee
ECCNA31 Chair