Beyond the Spotlight: EEMA East Celebrates Odisha’s Unsung Event Heroes and Shapes Future Talent
Bhubaneswar: The Event and Entertainment Management Association’s East Initiative has launched a landmark program titled “Beyond the Spotlight” in Bhubaneswar. This initiative honors backstage technical workers, introduces health insurance coverage and sponsors education for the next generation of event professionals in Odisha. The launch comes at a time when the Government of Odisha is actively positioning the state as a premier destination for corporate meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and destination weddings. To support this growth, the association’s national executive committee has partnered with the Event Management Association of Odisha to unlock new opportunities for local stakeholders.
Saroj Mallia, Vice President of the East region, highlighted the core mission of the initiative. “Behind every successful event, our ground crew, tent, light and camera teams are the real heroes,” he stated. “Moving beyond calling them mere vendors, we now recognize them as associate members, honoring their lifelong dedication with health insurance coverage and fully sponsored professional event management degree scholarships for the next generation.”
A key focus of the event is celebrating industry veterans who built the foundation of modern event production in the region. Four distinguished pioneers – Samarendra Mohanty of JBS Art and Architect, Laxman Mishra of Super Sound, Manas Ranjan Subudhi of Audiovisual Emporium and Narendra Sahoo of Kumar Lights – were formally felicitated for over forty years of dedicated service each. Beyond honorary awards, the program introduces comprehensive welfare support to safeguard the physical and mental well-being, health and livelihoods of these backstage workers.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainable talent development, the regional branch has partnered with premier event training institutes to support underprivileged aspirants. Two deserving students from the National Institute of Event Management, Mayukh Priyadarshi and the Global Institute of Event Management, Chandan Das will receive full academic sponsorships to build careers in experiential management. This initiative is structured as a fifty-fifty collaborative partnership, with half of the tuition funded by the association and the remaining half covered by the partner educational institutions.
The initiative is guided by a strong team of national and regional industry leaders. National executive committee members include Executive Vice President Mahavir Pratap Sharma, General Secretary Vinod Janardan, and Joint Secretary for the East Vishu Muchal. They are joined by regional leadership from the Event Management Association of Odisha, featuring President Satyabrat Sanu Ratho, Vice President Siva Pattnaik and Secretary Saroj Maliya.
Addressing the broader goals of the organization, Vinod Janardan emphasized that the industry needs formal status to protect gig workers and contribute to nation-building, noting that upcoming single-window permission pilots will help streamline clearances. Adding to this vision, Mahaveer Pratap Sharma noted that shaping effective national policies requires continuous grassroots feedback on regional infrastructure challenges, with the ultimate mission of establishing India as a world-class hub for high-value weddings and corporate events.
