Travel management and events specialist Agiito is to offer clients the opportunity to include wellbeing “hubs” as part of their conferences and events.
Agiito is working with social enterprise charity Eventwell, which has been set up to educate, campaign and support better health and wellbeing across the events industry.
The Hub by Eventwell is a quiet room and sensory space, which has been designed to offer a “gentle escape from the rich and often overwhelming environment” of a conference or event.
The room features dimmed lights, noise-cancelling headphones, books and other tools to “combat sensory overload”. The facilities are designed to provide attendees with a 10-minute break from the hustle and bustle of the event.
For those needing a longer break from the event’s main activities, Eventwell can stream sessions on to a TV in the hub. Many of the hubs also offer a trained mental health first aider who is on hand to offer support when needed.
Agiito’s sustainability manager Dana Moore said: “The data from mental health charities shows that up to one in six event attendees could be struggling with their mental health and we want to accommodate that.
“We wanted to extend the wellbeing solutions we have implemented in business travel to our meetings and events division, and what better way to support this than partnering with the award-winning mental health voice of the events industry.”
Helen Moon, Eventwell’s CEO, added: “We wanted to be more than an organisation providing training, we wanted to create something that was preventative and actionable.
“We wanted to develop a service that’s bespoke to each event and puts real support in place. The hubs are transformational, with delegates needing just 10 minutes for the brain to be refreshed.”
Agiito has been working with Eventwell for several years and the TMC’s director of venue find and events Caroline Medcalf is also a voluntary trustee for Eventwell.
“Mental health and inclusion doesn’t need to stop at the door; we recognise our customers want to look after their people by creating a self-care culture at their events,” said Medcalf. “This partnership means we can expand our offering with wellbeing and accessibility in mind.”