We may not be too far form a time when there is very little point in holding a conference for large numbers of delegates simply to relay information, because data will be disseminated in a variety of other ways on personal communication systems. There will be no need to have a conference to exchange information.

Now the third millennium is here, we might legitimately ask ourselves how we should best communicate with large numbers of people if data can be sent so cheaply and easily around the world. There are still vast conference centers being built both by governments and commercial groups. What sort of conferences do they think they will attract in this new age of instant, reliable communication?

The future of conferences must surely lie in how they are used. Perhaps promoting attitude change, creating group loyalty and rewarding positive behavior could be the answer. In the future, attending a conference will be an exciting occasion where the delegates expect to learn something they did not know, be converted to a new way of thinking about the sponsors' products or ideas or be rewarded for having done a good job. Concentrating on audience attitude changes and perceptions will be what conference organizers of the future will be paid to do. A successful conference will be one where the audience experiences a major shift in attitude, rather than collects vast amounts of corporate information. Listening to what the delegate is thinking and measuring what they got will become the key issues.