Two of the country’s event experts were recently tapped by the Los Baños Science Community Foundation, Inc. (LBSCFI) to conduct the training, “Introduction to Event Management and Events in the New/ Now Normal” last June 23, 2023 held at the Centennial Center for Digital Learning Auditorium, University of the Philippines Open University. One of the two experts, Cynthia Reantaso-Bernabe, introduced the concepts of professional event management and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions (MICE) at the training. “The power of events is it builds and rebuilds communities,” she stated. “You don’t know the transformation that you are creating, the process of changing the mindsets of people through your scientific events. You don’t know how much participation, or how much contribution you are giving to the nation’s growth,” she said, referring to the Foundation’s annual Syensaya Festival. “Events are major economic drivers,” she emphasized to the 52 participants of the training who are representatives of the Foundation’s 23 member-agencies. Bernabe is a Senior Fellow of the Royal Institution for Event Management of Singapore and is a Certified Event Management Executive. She is a multi-awarded college professor, author, speaker, and consultant on event management. She is a graduate of Event Leadership from the Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Bernabe is the author of the book “Events” published by Fully Booked and is the lead author and principal reviewer of the Professional Event Management Guide to MICE, a Commission on Higher Education-compliant textbook. Bernabe also defined events in the context of the new normal as an introduction to the assigned topics of the training’s other expert, Antonio V. Magpantay. For his part, Magpantay cited the techniques he employs and the technologies he uses in conducting events in the new normal, as well as the challenges that come with it. He also shared the events he is currently managing to further substantiate his discussion. Magpantay, a certified public accountant, is also a fellow at the Royal Institution for Event Management of Singapore. He is the managing director and founder of the multi-awarded event company, ArtisteSpace, Inc., which manages corporate events and events focusing on the arts, environment, social work, poverty alleviation, and other socially relevant issues. The training is Magpantay’s first for the Foundation and the second for Bernabe, having conducted the first LBSCFI event mana
