Where do I start? This is not my typical post. But, this was not my typical life. So, I thought I’d put a blog post together about my Takeaways from Speaking at World Youth Forum in Egypt 2018.
It has been a whirlwind month, from receiving an email when I woke up on October 11th, 2018 inviting me for speaking at the World Youth Forum in Egypt on November 3rd. Yes, that was less than a month away!
My original thought was that it was one of those scam emails. As I read it further, the invitation sounded very specific. Next, I did some research online to learn more about the company and the event itself. It all seemed legit, but odd at the same time. We talked back and forth a bit, then I accepted.
The back and forth over the next few weeks before the event was often. We had issues with getting my passport. But, made it happen. Tickets were booked Monday when we were leaving on Wednesday. But, made it happen.
Then, small world, a social media friend of mine who happens to live in the same state, MN, posted on Facebook that he was speaking at World Youth Forum in Egypt. Say what?????? I was already bringing my mother-in-law so I could have someone to travel that far with, but now we had another travel buddy, Ryan Pena.
On, October 31st (Halloween), we headed to Egypt.
The flight alone was an adventure in itself. 4 flights – MN to Boston – Boston to NY – NY to Cairo – Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh. Once we got to our long flight from NY to Cairo, they put us on Business Class and the accommodations were amazing! (Pic below and no, that is not a stock photo)
Our Business Class flight had lots of space and full beds 🙂
We finally get into Sharm El Sheikh. The weather is warm. There are signs everywhere (I mean EVERYWHERE) for the World Youth Forum. This included on the planes too. This seemed to be one happening event!
World Youth Forum was everywhere in the airport and in the city!
In Cairo with travelling buddies
We waited for our luggage. Then, got ushered to a black Mercedes. A young kid put our luggage in the back of the car. My mother-in-law and I got in the back seat. Off we went. But where? Suddenly we started wondering if we were in the right car. Every few blocks we saw armed men in the streets. I’m talking full masks and machine guns!!! I had to keep reminding myself, I am in Egypt. 😉
We asked the driver if he was with the World Youth Forum as we started getting nervous. What was his answer? “I speak no English.” He finally (seemed a lifetime) pulled into the driveway of the Hyatt Regency. He stopped the car and three men checked for bombs and opened the trunk. We got the ok to go ahead. He pulled further in and was stopped again to be checked. I just kept saying to myself, “Go with the flow.”
The thing that came up when mentioning Egypt was safety. After seeing all their safety checks, I realize it is one of the safest places to travel. They take a lot of precautions.
Now, we walk into the hotel. Luggage and belongings have to be scanned just to get into the hotel too. When we walk in, it is one of the most beautiful views of the Red Sea. Just amazing! We run into the team that asked us to speak from www.theworx-emc.com/. They are actually real people…and pretty cool people at that! 😉
I finally asked why they invited me to speak. The answer was they searched through the internet for specific criteria, went through a couple rounds of narrowing the choices down and I ended up being one of them. Still not sure what they were looking for, but I had something.
KEY POINT #1: EVEN IF YOU DON’T SEE RESULTS ON YOUR CONTENT CREATION IMMEDIATELY, SOMEONE IS NOTICING AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT OPPORTUNITIES IT WILL LEAD YOU TO!
Here are some pics from the last night with the team from The Worx.
Mohamed (Worx team), Me, Nemo (Worx Owner) and My Mother-in-Law (Jacque – PR Agent 😉 )
Patrik (another speaker), Mohamed, Mother-in-Law, Mai (she was the first to reach out to me to speak), Me (worst picture in history) and Ryan Pena (Speaker and travelling buddy)
Then, off to our rooms to freshen up after 22 hours of flying.
We were able to acclimate to the hotel, get some rest and spend time on the beach before others arrived. It was refreshing to have a few days before I had to speak.
Here are a few pictures of the beauty we had from the Hyatt on the Red Sea.
KEY POINT #2: APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU. THE GOOD AND THE BAD.
1st Night we attend of World Youth Forum was the President of Egypt at the Opening Ceremony. We walk up to the event and are just amazed. This was quite the event as you can see by the pictures.
So, let’s back it up.
What is the World Youth Forum?
World Youth Forum is a platform built by promising youth. It sends a message of peace, prosperity, harmony, and progress to the entire world. It engages youth from around the globe in an enriching set-up, allowing them to exchange views and recommend initiatives to decision-makers and influential figures. The forum is a chance for you to engage with top policymakers, network with promising youth from the region and the world that are determined to make our world a better place for everyone. Read more on their website.
Our Bus
Jacque out in front of event
One of the lobby areas
The first morning for my Speaking at World Youth Forum in Egypt (Sunday, November 4th). I was honored to be on a panel with Brian Solis, who I have a ton of respect for and have followed for years. Plus, a couple major influencers, Jerome Jarr and YouTube Influencer, Haifa Beseisso . The rest of the panel was extremely talented too and from all different backgrounds.
I was so fortunate to speak with Brian Solis! I followed him on social media for years, but never met before.
Jerome Jarre #LOVEARMY Jerome Jarre is a French entrepreneur, social media star, and activist. Jerome started off his career as the King of Vine and in 2015 he became the most followed Snapchat account in the world. With 15 million followers across all social media channels, his videos on Vine have reached an epic 1.3 billion views.
KEY POINT #3: THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE USING SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE MARKETING TO GIVE BACK AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!
My turn! 🙂
Our session was called: The Digital World as a Parallel Society; How it Controls our Real World. (Thanks for recording Ryan Pena)
We were given 2 questions. Here is my answer to the question: As of being e-marketing manager, how companies can develop themselves to cope with the rapid and consecutive development of user needs to create a competitive advantage and improve their chance in the virtual world?
Side Note: Translation headsets were not working at the time, so that’s why I repeated the question in English.
That evening, we had a fantastic dinner with Brian Solis, Jeff Bullas and Timmy (20 year old college student that spoke on our panel).
The Last Supper On Left – Timmy, Me, Brian On Right – Jacque, Jeff, Annette
The following day we attended to record our friends on their round table discussion. Originally, I was supposed to speak in this session, then was moved to the other. Theirs was called: Social Media: Saving or Enslaving Users?
The President of Egypt was part of theirs and it was streamed live to over 2,000 additional viewers.
Look at these guys on the panel with the President of Egypt!
The rest of the time, I was fortunate to hang out with people I had heard of through internet marketing, but never met.
One was Brian, who I mentioned before and the other was Jeff Bullas (Forbes calls him a top influencer of Chief Marketing Officers and the world’s top social marketing talent. Entrepreneur lists him among 50 online marketing influencers to watch. Inc.com has him on the list of 20 digital marketing experts to follow on Twitter.) and his girlfriend, who was so sweet! It was just fun and I was able to make great friends with so many!
I was able to gain some insights and pick their brains a bit. We really just hung out and had fun, but when you are with someone who has the success you want, learn from what they tell you. We were also lucky enough to get a picture taken by his photographer girlfriend, Annette. Here is one of those pics.
KEY POINT #4: LISTEN CLOSE WHEN SOMEONE THAT HAS THE SUCCESS YOU WANT GIVES YOU ADVICE!
Sitting by the Red Sea with Jeff Bullas
We were able to finish out our time with taking in the beauty of the Hyatt Regency Resort, walked along the beach at sunset and left the resort for a bit of shopping. I included a few pictures from this.
View from top bridge at Hyatt
View from end of dock
Cairo from Airplane
Hope you enjoyed my Takeaways from Speaking at World Youth Forum in Egypt 2018. As I said before, it was a whirlwind and kind of surreal. It was an amazing experience as you can see!
To listen to our Business Growth Time Podcast about the trip to Egypt:
Listen to Episode via Podcast:
