How Protocol and Events Work Together to Create Meaning, Communication and Community

What is it about?

This article develops a new conceptual model to explain how protocol and event management work together to shape the meaning, structure, and communicative function of events. Although both fields are widely used in professional practice, their academic development has been fragmented, with limited theoretical integration. Drawing on an extensive review of Spanish- and English-language scholarship, the study proposes a convergent model that shows how protocol and event management jointly coordinate people, spaces, time, and symbols to produce meaningful and coherent events. The model demonstrates that protocol is not only a set of rules or formal procedures, but a strategic tool that helps organisations express values, identities, and narratives through events. By combining strategic, operational, symbolic, and community-building dimensions, the framework offers researchers, educators, and practitioners a clearer and more systematic understanding of how events communicate and generate shared meaning. This provides a foundation for strengthening academic dialogue between both fields and for improving the professional design and evaluation of events.

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Photo by Yvette de Wit on Unsplash

Photo by Yvette de Wit on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Events are not only operational activities; they also communicate values, identity and social meaning. However, the relationship between protocol and event management has remained conceptually fragmented. This study offers a new model that connects both fields, helping professionals design events that are not only efficient, but also strategically meaningful and socially coherent.

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