As destinations increasingly look beyond economic impact to demonstrate the wider value of business events, Liverpool Experience Campus (LEX) is showing what can be achieved when legacy is built into conference planning from the outset.
Ahead of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) Congress, Liverpool Experience Campus facilitated the delivery of Little Smiles for Everyone, a sensory-friendly oral health education event that welcomed more than 270 local children, parents and carers to Liverpool Central Library.
The community focused event was the latest example of the organisation's established legacy strategy in action. Their proven approach connects visiting conferences and associations with a city-wide network of experts, charities, public sector organisations and community groups to create projects that address key Liverpool City Region priorities.
Rather than treating legacy as an afterthought, Liverpool Experience Campus helps clients embed it into the event lifecycle from the moment a conference is secured. Working closely with organisers, the LEX team identifies areas where the knowledge, expertise and influence of delegates can be used to make a meaningful difference to local communities.
Through its network of Legacy Champions across health, education, innovation, sustainability and community sectors, the team facilitates partnerships that align the objectives of visiting associations with existing regional priorities, ensuring that business events leave behind more than economic value.
Liverpool Experience Campus recognised an opportunity to connect international expertise in paediatric dentistry with a local challenge of improving oral health education and accessibility for children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Working alongside the University of Liverpool School of Dentistry and a broad coalition of partners including Alder Hey Children's Charity, Liverpool City Council, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, Liverpool FC Foundation and Everton in the Community, the event brought global expertise directly into the heart of the local community.
Held during Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Little Smiles for Everyone provided accessible and engaging oral health education through interactive activities including toothbrushing demonstrations, healthy eating games, storytelling sessions and a popular "Dentist for the Day" experience that helped reduce anxiety around dental visits. More than 270 children, parents and carers attended the event.
While many destinations talk about event legacy, Liverpool Experience Campus has developed a model designed to make event legacy achievable. By acting as a facilitator between conference organisers and local stakeholders, the team helps transform event content into practical action that tackles real challenges facing communities across the city region.
Liverpool Experience Campus’ Director of Sales – Conference & Business Events, Adrian Evans, said:
“For us, successful event legacy is not simply activities that happen around the event itself, but partnerships and programmes that are intentionally designed to leave a positive and lasting impact on the city region.
“We work with conference organisers long before they arrive in Liverpool, identify where their expertise aligns with the city region’s priorities, and then connect them with our network of Legacy Champions who can help turn those opportunities into meaningful action."
"Little Smiles for Everyone is a perfect example of that process in action. The European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry brought world-leading expertise to the city, and through our legacy framework we were able to connect that expertise with local partners working to improve outcomes for children and families. The result was a collaborative initiative that addressed a real community need and created benefits far beyond the congress itself."
The Little Smiles for Everyone event highlights the impact that can be achieved when international conferences are connected to local needs, demonstrating how global knowledge exchange can be harnessed to address health inequalities and improve outcomes for families. The EAPD Congress 2026 left behind stronger partnerships, tangible community benefits and a lasting legacy for Liverpool.