Written by Ioana Chiriac, Creative Director @Universum Events
This week felt like a month. Not because it was heavy, but because it was full.
I realized that somewhere around midnight, during a layover in Riga. Ice covering the airport windows. Planes taking off in silence. Running from one point to another just to make it in time from boe international to Growhub Tallinn.
It brought me back to something Mary Kirillova once told me about working in events: when you work in this industry, you live more. More intensely. More fully. Time bends. It doesn’t behave the same.
Before I go too far into the story, a bit of context.
Seven days ago, I packed my bag and armed myself with energy. Because no matter how tired I am, I will always have fuel for one more adventure. boe international found me on stage as a speaker, alongside BEIC.pro partners, presenting award-winning projects from 2025.
I wasn’t nervous. “Nervous” doesn’t quite cover it.
It felt more like dying internally twice before stepping on stage – fewer butterflies, more intrusive thoughts. Mostly the fear of messing it up. Of failing my work. Or the people I work with and deeply care about. I’m an anxious person in recovery. It’s not easy, but it is possible.
I genuinely love what I do. I fall in love easily – with places, stories, and projects. So standing there, knowing how much those two projects mattered to me, made me more restrained than usual.
You’d think that after years in events, marketing, customer care, and creation, confidence becomes the default. And it does, to some extent. But I’d never been on stage before. In front of it? Yes. Behind it? Most of the time. On it? Not until now.
A week ago (which already feels like a lifetime), I was quieter. More cautious. Less me.
Today, I’m more myself than I was then. Because the last few days shifted something. And because I truly believe there’s always more to learn. More room to grow. You don’t always have to push – but you always can. And you should always aim to evolve.
Anyway, I digress. I went on stage. I stumbled a bit, honestly. One of my videos didn’t play. A reminder that shit happens. Constantly. And it’s still going to be okay. Sometimes I need to remember that small hiccups are just that – small. I’m not a heart surgeon. No one died.
The support from BEIC.pro members, colleagues, and friends was overwhelming.
For someone who expresses a lot and makes people feel, I still struggle to speak openly about my own emotions. And honestly, let’s retire the idea that your “professional version” should be less emotional. Life’s too short to squeeze yourself into small boxes that limit you. Sure, have healthy boundaries. But don’t force yourself into becoming a sterile robot just because you think that’s what professionalism looks like.
Dortmund was uplifting. And I survived just in time to catch my flight to Tallinn.
And Tallinn – oh, Tallinn. The city alone would have been enough to set my creative wheels in motion. But that wasn’t all.
For two days, I shared space with incredible professionals from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. Different cultures, different contexts – yet striking similarities: the same challenges, familiar situations, similar approaches, the same passion for events, and the same relentless drive to do more and do better.
Inspirational. Powerful. Raw.
A week ago, I was a different person, simply because I hadn’t yet lived the interactions between January 13–19. I hadn’t yet seen four halls full of relevant exhibitors, activations, and live acts that reset your brain. I hadn’t yet attended talks that reconfirmed something essential: AI isn’t the enemy, it’s a tool. And live events – from courses and workshops to exhibitions and team buildings – are not fading away.
They are evolving. And they are very much the future.
As time moves forward, face-to-face connection becomes a necessity. Not a nice-to-have. Not a luxury. A must.
From insightful sessions with Thomas Kenyeri and Lotta Backlund, to workshops with real substance, to the most unhinged Backstreet Boys karaoke, the energy was felt, shared, grown, and used as fuel for what comes next.
Yes, I use a lot of words. No, I don’t plan on using any less.
If there’s one thing this week reminded me of, it’s this: you should always be yourself. Especially in a creative field. In fact, it’s mandatory.
Because strategies, frameworks, and solutions? We all have access to them. They’re mostly the same.
What isn’t replaceable is you. Your background, your way of thinking, your emotional lens – combined in a way no one else can replicate. That’s the only truly original thing you bring.
Putting a part of yourself into what you do is how creativity reaches its full potential, energy becomes contagious, and work stops feeling like output. It starts feeling intense, alive, and deeply rewarding.
Since Universum became a BEIC member, I’ve had the chance to connect with people I’m genuinely grateful to call peers. Even when creative work means losing track of time, deadlines start feeling like a loose social construct.
Long flights? Brutal layovers? That’s fine.
It’s the price for unforgettable moments, mindset resets, real learning, perspective shifts, and people who quietly turn into allies, support systems, and inspiration.
And honestly? Worth every second.
