{"id":156475,"date":"2026-02-10T10:57:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T09:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/blogs\/3-days-in-porto-a-high-pressure-kick-off\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:52:33","slug":"3-days-in-porto-a-high-pressure-kick-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/blogs\/3-days-in-porto-a-high-pressure-kick-off\/","title":{"rendered":"3 days in Porto: a high-pressure kick-off"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a kick-off…
\nAfter a brief site inspection and weeks of preparation, everything seemed to be on track for an international kick-off meeting in Dublin. The destination had already been launched internally, the program was set, everyone was ready to go, until fate decided to play along.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On a Thursday at the end of November, the infamous phone call came: Dublin is out, due to circumstances.<\/strong>
\nSnel schakelen dus.<\/p>\n

Within 24 hours, an alternative was on the table in Rome… but that too proved unfeasible. It wasn’t until the following Tuesday that the decision was made: Porto it is<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Important detail?
\nWe were talking about an international kick-off meeting for 100 participants in mid-January.
\n\u27a1\ufe0f Result: barely six weeks of preparation time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fortunately, we were able to count on the exceptional flexibility of our local DMC and our hotel partner. Thanks to this collaboration, we managed to organize an intensive, tightly scheduled, and memorable three-day event in Porto.
\nThink: strategic meetings, award ceremonies, team building, city discovery \u2014 and yes, unfortunately also… lots of rain<\/em>. Anyway, when you see what Dublin had in store for us, that Portuguese rain almost felt like a vacation.<\/p>\n

\"whatsapp<\/p>\n

Day 1 \u2013 Arrival in Porto & awards on the Douro<\/h4>\n

While our AV team spent the entire morning setting up an impressive LED wall in the meeting room, the first group of participants began arriving at the Hilton Porto Gaia. They started their three-day trip quietly with a coffee and a first exploration of the Gaia district, always a good warm-up after an early flight.<\/p>\n

By the time the second group arrived, an extensive lunch buffet was ready. This was followed by the official start of the kick-off meeting: a packed afternoon of insights, strategy, and a look back at 2025.<\/p>\n

After checking in and a quick outfit change, we headed for the harbor.
\nBy boat\u2014with a glass of port, of course\u2014we sail down the Douro toward the coast. A panoramic journey that remains graceful even in the rain.<\/p>\n

The evening ended at the fishing port of Afurada, where we had set up a completely transformed venue for the award dinner. Consider:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • a stage with LED wall<\/li>\n
  • gold table decoration<\/li>\n
  • a black carpet for the award winners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    A Black ‘n Gold setting for an evening full of recognition, pride, and experience: exactly what a kick-off should be.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"53\"<\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    Day 2 \u2013 Strategy, Culture & Music Legends<\/h4>\n

    The second day was all about looking ahead. During the morning meeting, the focus was firmly on 2026. The plenary session was followed by an interactive marketplace session in which participants rotated in small groups between different themed stations. TV screens and audio guides ensured that each session was focused, clear, and, above all, free from disruption.<\/p>\n

    After an authentic Portuguese tapas lunch in the city center, the participants immersed themselves in the city through a varied cultural and experiential program. It turned out to be an afternoon that encompassed just about everything that makes Porto unique:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • a ride on the cable car<\/li>\n
    • a walk across the iconic Lu\u00eds I Bridge<\/li>\n
    • a Fado workshop (yes, including singing yourself<\/em>)<\/li>\n
    • Making and tasting Past\u00e9is de Nata<\/li>\n
    • creating a work of art together on traditional Portuguese tiles<\/li>\n
    • a panoramic tuk-tuk tour through the city<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      In short: Porto in fast-forward. It rained, but thanks to the excellent hotel service, all shoes were bone dry again by evening.<\/p>\n

      After a quick freshen up in our rooms, the evening began in a typical port wine cellar: the perfect place for an atmospheric aperitif. We then proceeded to the PIP restaurant, which we had completely transformed for our Music Legends Night.<\/p>\n

      We then proceeded to the PIP restaurant, which we had completely transformed for our Music Legends Night.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Long tables out, round tables in<\/li>\n
      • musical decoration all around<\/li>\n
      • a dance floor that was immediately and continuously filled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        The atmosphere was great right from the start and everyone went wild for the greatest hits of all time.<\/p>\n

        \"foto<\/p>\n

        Day 3 – Making an impact & farewell<\/h4>\n

        With tired eyes but in good spirits, we headed into town, once again in the rain, for one last activity: shopping.
        But not just any kind of shopping.<\/p>\n

        The group was divided into teams and given:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • \n

          a shopper<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          a budget<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          a list: socks, underwear, and shoes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          We gathered at SAOM, an organization that supports homeless people. The purchases were sorted and divided into individual packages. This enabled us to provide more than 100 men and women with new underwear, socks, and shoes, all purchased from local retailers. An activity with real impact.<\/p>\n

          After a final lunch at the beautiful O’Commercial, it was time to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

          Bye Porto. Obrigado.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \"858\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          What a kick-off… After a brief site inspection and weeks of preparation, everything seemed to be on track for an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":156474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"International Kick-off Porto: how we organized an impactful three-day event in six weeks","_seopress_titles_desc":"Discover how we organized an international kick-off in Porto in just six weeks: meetings, awards, team building, and a CSR activity with real impact.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"Case: How we saved an international kick-off in Porto in just 6 weeks","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"Dublin dropped out. Rome too. And then it became Porto. Read how we made a three-day kick-off full of strategy, culture, and impact unforgettable.","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cases-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156489,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156475\/revisions\/156489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/act-wise.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}