In North America, with the exponential spread of the Omicron variant, it is most prudent and responsible that we keep our members and faculty safe. We are canceling the in-person delivery of the 2022 Annual Member Conference in Los Cabos, Mexico, and will be offering the event worldwide via Zoom. The in-person conference in Auckland remains as planned.
As of December 20, 2021, Omicron has been detected in most US states and is rapidly increasing the number and proportion of new COVID-19 cases. The variant went from just 3% to 73% of new cases in just one week. The CDC expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms. Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant. However, breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are happening and more likely to occur.
As requirements for air travelers to the US require a negative covid test before boarding, it is now more probable that some or many conference attendees would be exposed, rendering them unable to return from Mexico as they would need to quarantine in place, or worse.
What now? Reinvention.
We now have the opportunity to welcome the entire ecology to a live Zoom Event showcasing Co-founders John Patterson and Kirkland Tibbels and Auckland’s Drew Knowles. Along with our members, we now have the chance to be together for our flagship event as one big brain. Reinvention is the 2022 theme of the year, and we get to practice it now ahead of our study next month.
What is the new schedule?
Institute Studies and Founder Studies will begin at 1 pm and end at 5 pm Pacific on both days. The Conference will begin each of the three days at 1 pm Pacific and go to 8 pm Pacific. This is 10 am-5 pm New Zealand time and 5 am - 12 PM Western Australia time. While some can safely gather locally in pods to participate, we will no longer be hosting virtual versions of our social events or our flagship dinner. See timezones.
What happens to my Registration?
If you were planning to attend in person, we request that you join us virtually. As this tragedy hits us all (our sunk costs are high), we ask that you not request a refund or transfer. Instead, we ask for your partnership by applying tuition difference (if any) to your next conference or future program. We recommend you act now to cancel any booked hotel room, flights or other transport. Most vendors are pretty gracious in this.
Please confirm your attendance via Zoom and we’ll cancel bookings with Mexico Planners (for transport, cruise, or other excursions). If you seek to retain any bookings and plan to travel and stay in Cabo please let us know immediately. Influential U will not be coordinating Cabo activities for those who choose to remain.
