How one chapter turned a call to action into a conference

When the Alpha Beta Nu Chapter in Finland agreed to host the 8th Sigma Nursing European Regional Conference, chapter President Anu Nurmeksela, PhD, RN, and her team didn’t just put Lead Together on the program. They built the whole event around it.

The result, held in Kuopio, Finland, at the University of Eastern Finland, with support from the University of Eastern Finland and the Department of Nursing Science, in July, brought together 230 nurses from 30 countries and became a working example of the biennium’s call to action: nurses elevating their voices, advancing their value, and expanding their impact as a global community.

Shared leadership from day one

The idea that nurses are stronger together than alone shaped every planning decision.

“From the beginning, we adopted a shared leadership approach,” Nurmeksela said.

Instead of concentrating decisions in a small group, the chapter formed three teams (a Scientific Committee, an Organizing Committee, and a Social Program Committee) and spread leadership across them. Chapter members each owned a piece of the event, and Sigma Nursing volunteers and leaders from across the European Region joined in, giving the conference a truly international foundation before a single attendee arrived.

Elevating many voices

That same commitment shaped the program. The team recruited leaders and volunteers from across Europe to review around 400 abstracts and chair sessions, and wherever possible, they placed presenters from different countries in the same session.

“Rather than focusing on a single national or institutional perspective, we wanted participants to hear how common nursing challenges are addressed in different countries, cultures, and healthcare settings,” Nurmeksela said. “This approach enriched discussions and encouraged participants to exchange ideas across borders.”

Advancing nursing’s value

Sessions tackled the issues shaping nursing today: the future of nursing leadership, a healthy workforce, safety, sustainability, health education and technology, co-design with patients, future nursing practice, and methodological innovation. Each track gave attendees evidence and examples to bring home and make the case for nursing’s value in their own health systems.

The conference confirmed something Nurmeksela had expected: many of nursing’s challenges are universal, and “innovative solutions often emerge when people from different backgrounds come together to exchange ideas.”

Expanding impact beyond Kuopio

The conference’s reach extended well past the venue. Attendees shared insights and photos on social media throughout the event, raising the visibility of Sigma Nursing, the European Region, and the Alpha Beta Nu Chapter among nurses who couldn’t attend.

“In many ways, this reflected the Lead Together vision by enabling nurses to elevate their voices, demonstrate the value of nursing, and extend their influence to a broader international audience,” Nurmeksela said.

The social program kept those connections going. A cruise, the conference dinner, and informal networking events gave participants room to turn shared sessions into lasting relationships, which Nurmeksela counts among her strongest memories.

“Participants from many different countries came together to share experiences, ideas, and friendships,” she said. Those connections may prove to be the conference’s most lasting outcome.

What it takes to host

The Department of Nursing Science was a valuable partner throughout planning and hosting, contributing significant resources and practical assistance. Connecting with local resources is something Nurmeksela suggests hosts start early in the process. Even with national conference experience, the team found that an international event brought new demands.

“We were not fully prepared for the number and variety of requests for official documents and supporting materials,” Nurmeksela said.

Her advice for chapters considering a future regional conference:

• Start earlier than you think you need to.
• Invest in an abstract management system, if you can, to reduce the administrative load.
• Engage chapter members throughout the process.
• Spread responsibilities across a wide team rather than a small core group.
• Set clear communication practices, including regular planning meetings and a designated coordinator to keep everything on track.
• Prepare response templates in advance for the most common requests.

Demanding as it was, she called it “an incredibly rewarding and educational experience. The knowledge, skills, and international networks gained through the process will undoubtedly benefit future projects and collaborations.”

Leadership as shared purpose

For Nurmeksela, the conference reinforced that leadership is “not only about expertise, but also about collaboration, community, and shared purpose.”

She hopes attendees returned home “with renewed motivation to lead, collaborate, and create positive change within their own organizations and communities. Most importantly, I hope participants left with new professional connections and a stronger sense of belonging to a global nursing community that values collaboration, innovation, and collective leadership.”