2021 Conferences for Productivity and Organizing Consultants
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My yearly conference list is much shorter than usual. It seems that a lot of conference organizers are holding off on making or announcing any plans until things are more stable, understandably.
Virtual Conferences 2021
Since no one really knows when large gatherings will be safe or allowed again, it’s not surprising that several organizing industry conferences are being planned as virtual right from the get-go.
2nd UK Virtual Summit for Virtual Organisers
January 21, 2021
Institute of Professional Organisers (IOPO) Conference
March 18-20, 2021
The Photo Organizers 2021 Conference
(also in-person in Atlanta, Georgia)
April 15-17, 2021
NAPO 2021 Annual Conference for Productivity and Organizing Professionals
April 20-23, 2021
Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers (APDO) 2021 Conference
May 20, 2021
Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) Conference
TBA: Likely late October or early November
If you’ve never attended a virtual conference, read Professional Organizers in Canada Conference goes Virtual by Julie Stobbe for an inside look.
In-Person Conferences 2021
At this point, the following events appear to be proceeding as planned. Keep an eye on the websites or contact the organizers for updates.
The Photo Organizers 2021 Conference
Atlanta, Georgia (also virtual)
April 15-17, 2021
Association of Russian-speaking Professional Organizers Conference
Moscow, Russia
April 17-18, 2021
European Relocation Association (EuRA) International Relocation Congress
Seville, Spain
June 8-11, 2021
International Association of Home Staging Professionals® (IAHSP®) Conference & Expo
Denver, Colorado
September 24-26, 2021
Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) Conference 2021
Phoenix, Arizona
October 14-17, 2021
Affiliate Summit West
Las Vegas, Nevada
November 1-3, 2021
Conference Tips
Whether you’re planning for this year or dreaming of days ahead, these might help!
- The ROI of Attending a Conference by Elaine Shannon
- 5 Reasons to overcome your fear of attending conference by Jill Annis
- Business Travel: 4 Ideas to Overcome the Overwhelm by Sue West
Please leave a comment if you know of any conferences that should be added to this list. Thank you!
Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels
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I believe NERCPO will be happening again next November. It has not yet been decided whether the event will be live or virtual. If it is virtual, it really is open to everyone:)
That’s a big plus of virtual events!
I’m looking forward to the NAPO (virtual) conference in April, though it won’t be the same. Last year would have been my 20th consecutive NAPO conference; I’m excited about the learning opportunities, but I will miss seeing all of my peeps in person, plopping down on the nearest couch to chat for 15 minutes before the next event, and dining together.
I’m surprised the Photo Organizers are going to be partly in-person; that’s only 90ish days away.
It would be cool to attend one of the international conferences, like APDO or POC, virtually at least. You’ve given us good stuff about which to ponder!
I hear you, Julie – that’s one of the best parts of conference!
I wonder if the Photo Organizers will proceed with the in-person events. At least they already have the infrastructure in place if they need to switch to all-virtual.
And yes – what a great opportunity to attend an international conference!
Wow! Thanks for putting together these 2021 conferences. It’s great to see there are some that will be in-person.
Hopefully they will be able to carry out their plans!
Thank you for this list, Janet. I’m really looking forward to attending the ICD conference in October – fingers crossed that it will be safe enough to hold it in-person!
It’s hard to imagine it won’t be, but then again, we never thought the pandemic would still be on now, did we?
It was an interesting 2020 with all conferences being virtual or canceled. I attended NERCPO and the ICD conferences virtually, along with several virtual one-day or evening workshops. While I love being in-person and face-to-face with my colleagues, there were also many advantages of attending virtually- cost, comfort, and time being three of them.
Those are all very good advantages, Linda! I hope people keep that in mind as they make their plans.