The event was organized and managed by a group of students from the Event Production, Ceremonial, and Protocol course within the Public Relations and Event Management program, under the coordination of Professor Claudia Calace.
This time, the group consisted of eight students, who faced two major challenges:
- adapt to a location outside the university, along with its rules and limitations;
- incorporate etiquette and protocol appropriate to the venue, the purpose of the event, and the guests.
The biggest challenge was getting the team on track and fostering teamwork; once the gears started turning, the work flowed toward the goal. Another challenge was securing the speakers’ confirmation, since they all have very busy schedules and roles that could have limited their availability, but everyone we reached out to gave their approval.
Prof. Claudia Calace
The Event Production, Ceremonial, and Protocol group chose the wool industry as its topic for two reasons:
- On the one hand, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Uruguay and Colombia that, among other things, addresses wool as a raw material needed by Colombian designers and artisans, presenting an export opportunity for Uruguay.
- On the other hand, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the National Heritage Commission, and the Uruguayan Wool Secretariat are in the process of securing “heritage status for Uruguay’s wool industry.”
Calace noted that by bringing together both topics and the relevant stakeholders, the topics to be discussed and the speakers were selected. The speakers who participated in the discussion on June 21 were:
- Carmen Vázquez, Colombian Ambassador to Uruguay;
- Ana Ribeiro, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture;
- Leticia Cannella, director of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the National Cultural Heritage Commission;
- Elisa Schroeder, representing Uruguay XXI;
- Magdalena Rocanova, institutional communications advisor for the Uruguayan Wool Secretariat and
- Virginia Montoro, director of Ruralanas.
In addition, Sergio Abreu, president of ALADI, was present to open the event.
Calace explained that the students were divided into four teams and had a general coordinator. On the day of the event, each team member had specific tasks assigned to them.
My assessment is that they put on a high-quality event that lived up to the standards of the venue that hosted us and the speakers who participated. They worked with professionalism and enthusiasm, clearly enjoying both the process and the event itself. I am proud of the entire team.
Prof. Claudia Calace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqxicLIhDyY