Insights on human resilience and the priorities that matter were what AIME 2026's Knowledge Monday imparted to attendees on 9th February at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This year's AIME Knowledge Monday welcomed buyers, suppliers, and members of the international media with a day punctuated by three unique keynotes followed by an afternoon of diverse breakout sessions featuring experts from fields outside the standard hospitality and MICE experience.
This year's theme actually stepped up from 2025's We Matter thematic, highlighting the importance of experience, credibility, clarity, as well as the strategic influence of professionals in MICE and beyond.
Shorter but more effective
AIME event director Silke Calder said of Knowledge Monday 2026: "I think we had a great start with Knowledge Monday, and we tried a few new things. We had three shorter keynotes, something we tried for the first time, and we loved it! The feedback we've been given was absolutely positive."
Rather than give speakers 45 minutes to a full hour at the rostrum, this year's keynotes ran for about 30 minutes each.
By doing so, AIME organisers were able to sustain audience interest without compromising on content.
Lessons in resilience
Kristina Karlsson, the Swedish-born entrepreneur behind brands kikki K.and Dream Life, shared her own uplifting experience which highlighted her resilience in the face of crisis, along with the power of purposeful existence.
Karlsson posed three questions to the audience:
- What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
- What if you had all the money and the resources?
- What if you had unlimited health and energy?
These questions resonated with an audience of event professionals, all of whom are working in a high-pressure, high-stakes industry which shares a collective mindset founded on the fear of failure.
Karlsson, whose own company failed twice to the point that the kikki K. brand went into voluntary administration, reminded attendees to look to the things that truly matter: their health, their energy, and their true vision in life.
The Wilkinson principle for change management
Meanwhile, behavioural scientist and futurist Milo Wilkinson called out the way many professionals in diverse fields dread the concept of change in any form.
As she put it: "Humans aren't afraid of change itself, but of loss. Successful change management requires addressing what people are losing rather than just touting the benefits."
She added that our own perception creates a selective, even biased, reality.
Wilkinson said: "The brain constantly filters information to preserve energy, causing us to miss obvious details when focused on specific tasks. Our reality is not objective, but rather shaped by what the brain chooses to process or ignore."
For Wilkinson, people are divided into those who only see red arrows (issues and risks) and those who see white arrows (possibilities and solutions.)
As she concluded: "Elite performance in any kind of work involves actively seeking those white arrows."
Taking a cue from the world of sport
Knowledge Monday's final keynote came from performance and leadership coach Dan Haesler who has guided elite sporting teams and Olympians, as well as organisations worldwide.
Given the incredibly competitive nature of global MICE these days, Haesler's guidance for sport stars also applies to event professionals.
As he reminded the audience: "Many high-performers fall into the loop of tying their self-worth entirely to their professional success. This creates a dangerous 'I am what I do' mentality."
Haesler pointed out that such a mindset makes every challenge feel like a threat, leading to the sort of pressure that could eventually break even the best-performing professionals.
Rather than gunning for the impossible, he advised attendees to set goals that are completely within their control.
As he explained it: "These include how you show up, your preparation routines, and maintaining your best way of being regardless of circumstances."
He is likewise of the opinion that high performers need to distinguish between who they are and what they do.
Australian Olympian Jess Fox's "I deserve to do my best" mindset served as a key example for the audience, especially given how it clearly separates performance from outcome whilst building confidence on a foundation of one's existing accomplishments.
