Is Safety an Illusion?
Safety at big events is of the utmost importance. We spoke to Marit Elders, founder of the Event Safety Company, about her work ensuring the safety of attendees at events..
How to use the power of knowledge to strengthen the event industry
Interview with Marit Elders, Founder, Event Safety Academy
Holding a ticket to a big event is a matter of the heart, nothing compares with the joy and anticipation of being part of something big and meaningful. You can only hope that the event you are attending is not going to be added to the list of traumatic events like the Manchester and Las Vegas shootings, or the crowd rush in Duisburg.
Are the big players of the event industry, local governments and emergency services prepared for every type of security and safety issue the modern world could bring? How can proper planning, a good venue design, and resilient safety organisations help to prevent and deal efficiently with any possible accidents or incidents?
We met Marit Elders at the Powerful Business Women Network in the Netherlands, and she told us about her company, Event Safety Academy, which offers safety solutions for the big players of the event industry.
What inspired you to create The Event Safety Academy?
As a young girl I was always around the safety & security portacabin of events as a volunteer. One day when my father came back home from the construction of this event, his face was pale, completely shocked. He stood nearby when a 23 years young woman was run over by a spike. Causing serious injuries. In that moment, I felt the importance of the coordination work that was being done in the portacabin and I became aware that it was in charge of people’s lives. Later on, the girl and I became friends and worked together on the event. We hear ‘the worst kind scenario never happens’ a lot, but when it does, life changes dramatically. Organisers are responsible for lives when planning and producing events, as are local governments when approving or declining them. Of course, total safety is an illusion, but decision makers need to be conscious about the risks. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
What are your responsibilities?
As founder of the Event Safety Academy, I help municipalities and emergency services to further professionalise safety at events, to accelerate the joint results, and to achieve more results with less consultation. Which can be a challenge.
From an early age I have been involved in event safety and I now have more than 25 years of practical experience at various events. As a safety coordinator for an event of 55,000 people, I had 180 volunteers and 4 coordinators in a weekend. Due to growth, it was a challenge to organise that every year without any budget.
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Dr Marina Nani
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief of Rich Woman Magazine, founder of Sovereign Magazine, author of many books, Dr Marina Nani is a social edification scientist coining a new industry, Social Edification. Passionately advocating to celebrate your human potential, she is well known for her trademark "Be Seen- Be Heard- Be You" running red carpet events and advanced courses like Blog Genius®, Book Genius®, Podcast Genius®, the cornerstones of her teaching. The constant practitioner of good news, she founded MAKE THE NEWS ( MTN) with the aim to diagnose and close the achievement gap globally. Founder of many publications, British Brands with global reach Marina believes that there is a genius ( Stardust) in each individual, regardless of past and present circumstances. "Not recognising your talent leaves society at loss. Sharing the good news makes a significant difference in your perception about yourself, your industry and your community."
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