So this year, among the track mats, tents and food, fun and entertainment, you'll find breathing sessions, inspiring talks and connection workshops provided by Impact Speakers. Because connection is the engine to growth and impact.
From person to person, from story to impact
Impact Speakers is all about growing from connection: with yourself and with others. They focus on the growth of their speakers through a personal approach, where speakers learn how to organize valuable events, how to grow as a speaker through tips & tricks and how to become and stay top of mind with their target audience. This is exactly what makes Impact Speakers so unique. "Everything has grown this way organically," Filip explains. "With a membership model, we support a community of about 20 speakers, and that number is growing."
Impact Speakers works with experienced speakers such as Joris Walraet and Veerle Franqui, who are passionate about sharing their knowledge in trainings for other speakers. Meanwhile, Filip and Svetlana organize inspiring events themselves. For example, they offered their speakers a stage for some 170 entrepreneurs. The result? An inspiring mix of speakers, entrepreneurs and companies who find each other, inspire each other and grow together.
From that approach came Building Bridges, an open workshop in which Filip teaches entrepreneurs to strengthen their network and allow their business to flourish in a natural, non-pushy way. Sometimes that requires thinking around, but that's exactly where the power lies. "Connection as compass, value as currency."
Want to experience that for yourself? Then don't miss this inspiring session during Festivak!
Breathe in, Grow out
During Festivak, Impact Speakers will bring more sessions around connection and personal impact. "We have never been so connected, but at the same time we have also lost a lot of personal touch," Filip explains. His message is clear: in a world full of screens and scrolling, we often forget the most important connection, the one with ourselves. Real connection starts from within.
A session that ties in perfectly with that is Tom Stijven's breathing workshop. He lets you see and experience how breathing and stress management provide more focus and peace. And if organizational life does get stormy, Joris Walraet shows how a crisis does not have to be an end point, but an opportunity to grow, renew and reinvent yourself.
The lectures by Impact Speakers are moments at the exhibition to catch your breath, stop and move forward with renewed energy.
Joie de Vivre: Connection at the heart of the exhibition
Great news: Filip and Svetlana recently announced their newest adventure: Joie de Vivre, a brand new exhibition that will descend on Kortrijk Xpo from October 22 to 24, 2027.
Joie de Vivre will not be a classic exhibition, but a connection exhibition where experience, humanity and positivity play the leading role. For three days, the exhibition space will be transformed into an inspiring meeting place with six thematic zones around different themes such as well-being, sustainability, luxury and innovation and much more. More than 200 exhibitors, 50 speakers and 20,000 visitors will come together to experience, learn and share.
We believe people are actively seeking to connect, both professionally and personally."
"In times of digital excess, Joie de Vivre offers a physical place where trust, humanity and positive energy are tangible," says Filip.
The idea for Joie de Vivre grew out of Filana Foundation (non-profit organization) and Impact Speakers, and took shape as an event that goes beyond networking. Visitors can participate in intimate workshops, inspiring talks and experience moments of genuine encounter. With the unique 'give what you feel' model, where part of the proceeds go to charity, you can feel the values of Joie de Vivre in every aspect of the exhibition. A exhibition where you don't just pass by, but really experience, and where you walk out with more energy, insight and enthusiasm than you came in with.
Together to the top
Impact Speakers and Joie de Vivre share a clear mission: to help people grow, connect and empower. "The whole ecosystem is about strengthening each other. Together to the top, not from competition, but from a 'give and allow' mentality," Filip said.
With their inspiring keynotes, workshops and community-oriented approach, Filip and Svetlana want visitors during Festivak to discover how to increase their personal and professional impact. It's an invitation to not just learn, but really connect, with yourself, others and the world around you.
Impact Speakers x Festivak
Don't miss Filip and Svetlana and be sure to visit their booth #44! Write these lectures big at your calendar (these lectures are in dutch):
- Filip Plompen - Building Bridges: The Power of Connection
Wednesday, November 5, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m. - Joris Walraet - Crisis as an opportunity: How the event industry needs to keep reinventing itself
Thursday, November 6, 11:30 - 12:00 a.m. - Tom Stijven - Breathing as a basis for good physical and mental health
Thursday, November 6, 1:45 - 2:15 p.m.
To learn more about Impact Speakers or Joie de Vivre visit www.jdvexpo.eu or www.impactspeakers.eu
