Conect4Children General Assembly | 2023

Conect4Children (c4c) is a large, collaborative European network that aims to facilitate the development of new drugs and other therapies for the entire paediatric population. It is a pioneering opportunity to build capacity for the implementation of multinational paediatric clinical trials whilst ensuring the needs of babies, children, young people and their families are met. By emphasising inclusiveness and collaboration across geographical, specialty, sectoral, cultural and societal backgrounds, the project aims to set up a new infrastructure to support all evaluations of medicines in children.

The c4c General Assembly event is an annual occurrence which allows the c4c consortium to come together and celebrate the annual achievements of the project. It is also a chance to develop new ideas for the future bringing together experts in the field from across the globe.

We caught up with Jessie Trueman, a Project Assistant for c4c, to learn more about their time in our city and how our Convention Bureau was able to assist.

Which venues did you use for your event and what attracted you to them? 

We used the Frederick Douglas Centre and Urban Sciences Building located at the Newcastle Helix site for our daytime meetings. The Newcastle Helix site being a visually striking set of buildings, paired with its impressive facilities such as smart meeting rooms and sustainable benefits, made it an ideal location to host our guests.

The evening social events were held at Wylam Brewery and The Glasshouse ICM (formerly Sage Gateshead). We wanted to choose iconic venues that showcased the best of Newcastle and Gateshead whilst also being easily accessible and within walking distance to Sandman Signature, where most of the meeting participants were staying.

How did NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau support you along the way, did the support meet your expectations? 

NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau were a huge help, particularly Caroline Reed who supported us along the way to ensure the venues and accommodation options met our expectations. They helped coordinate venue viewings for us, created a central accommodation booking site and provided information booklets about Newcastle and Gateshead for us to include in our welcome packs for delegates. All of this helped make the event one to remember!

Did the venue meet your brief/expectations and how?

Yes, the meeting rooms were well equipped with everything we required and very comfortable. Catering was really well organised, and the food was impressive too!

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, especially in business events. Did your event take any measures to be more sustainable? 

We avoided bottled water, instead opting for water tanks for participants to refill their water bottles at, and participants avoided flying in for the meeting where possible to decrease the event’s air mileage.

Was there anything that made the event particularly memorable or unique?

We held an awards ceremony to celebrate c4c champions at Wylam Brewery. The live band made for a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable evening for all attendees.