TESOL-SPAIN is one of Spain's longest-running teaching associations — and its annual national convention, now in its 48th year, is a deeply embedded tradition among English teachers across the country. Organized entirely by volunteers, the event brings together 400–500 attendees across three days, with around 90 speakers, multiple breakout rooms, and off-site social events that move the crowd to different locations across the host city. For a volunteer team with no professional event infrastructure, the logistical complexity of keeping that many people informed — in real time, across a shifting programme — was the defining challenge of every edition.
Changes were constant and unavoidable. With 90 speakers across three days, room changes, schedule adjustments, and last-minute updates were a regular feature of the convention. Without a fast, reliable way to communicate those changes to hundreds of attendees simultaneously, the team was always operating behind the information curve. And beyond logistics, the event faced a structural connection problem: every year brought a mix of returning members who knew each other well and local first-timers who arrived knowing nobody. Getting those two groups talking before the first cocktail was over relied entirely on chance.
During COVID, TESOL-SPAIN had run its conventions online using a separate platform. When face-to-face events returned, Ryan Gornall made the switch to Eventify — a platform he felt was built specifically for in-person events. Three conventions later, he manages most of the app himself, has helped other international teaching associations adopt it, and has no plans to look elsewhere.
Community That Starts Two Weeks Before the ConventionThe TESOL-SPAIN convention has always been as much about the connections made as the sessions attended. But for first-time attendees — especially those coming from outside Madrid to a city where they know few people — walking into a room of 400 strangers can be daunting. Eventify's community feature changed that dynamic entirely. Two weeks before the convention begins, Ryan's team opens the app and the community starts. Attendees complete ice breakers, open topics of interest, and begin conversations around shared areas of focus. By the time the opening cocktail begins on the Friday evening, many attendees already recognise faces and names from the app — people they have never met in person. The transition from stranger to familiar face happens before the event floor even opens.
Real-Time Communication for a 90-Speaker ProgrammeRunning a three-day convention with 90 speakers across multiple rooms means changes are inevitable. Room swaps, timing adjustments, last-minute speaker updates — all of these need to reach hundreds of attendees instantly, not through a notice board or a volunteer with a megaphone. Eventify's push notification and agenda management tools gave Ryan's team the ability to push changes to every attendee simultaneously — as both a push alert and an email — ensuring nobody was operating on outdated information. For a volunteer team that can't afford operational gaps, this capability is essential.
Push Notifications That Moved 500 People to the Right PlaceSome of TESOL-SPAIN's most memorable moments happen off-campus — at the Friday cocktail, the Saturday dinner, and the social events that give the convention its character. Getting 500 people to an off-site venue they've never been to, in an unfamiliar city, is a logistical challenge that used to rely on printed directions and word of mouth. With Eventify, Ryan sends a single push notification — embedded with a Google Maps link — and the entire attendee base receives it simultaneously as both an alert and an email. At the Madrid edition, Ryan sent the notification 15 minutes before the cocktail began and watched attendees navigate to the venue through the app in real time. A process that used to cause confusion resolved itself in seconds.
A Platform That Attracts Younger AttendeesTESOL-SPAIN's membership spans generations, and Ryan is deliberate about not moving at a pace that isolates older members. But the app's popularity among younger attendees has created something unexpected: word-of-mouth growth. Teachers under 50 have embraced the community feature and the app experience enthusiastically, and that enthusiasm has started bringing new, younger faces to the convention. For a 48-year-old nonprofit association, the ability to use technology as a genuine membership recruitment tool — without alienating existing members — is a meaningful long-term benefit.
A Tool Other Associations Want to ReplicateTESOL-SPAIN's partnerships with teaching associations from Portugal, France, Japan, and beyond have turned Ryan into an informal Eventify ambassador. Multiple associations have reached out asking how the app works and how to make it work for their own events. Portugal's equivalent association adopted Eventify directly, with Ryan providing guidance on the admin side. For a volunteer-run organisation, being the benchmark that others want to follow is one of the strongest indicators that the platform is delivering.
"You arrive at the cocktail and you already know half the faces and their names — and you've never met them before." — Ryan Gornall, TESOL-SPAIN Burgos 2025
TESOL-SPAIN is a professional, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting teachers of English as a second or foreign language in Spain. Founded in 1977, it aims to promote excellence in English language teaching and provide a platform for educators to connect, learn, and grow professionally.
TESOL-SPAIN is well known for its annual national convention, which brings together teachers, researchers, and education professionals from across Spain and beyond. The event features workshops, presentations, and networking opportunities focused on the latest teaching methods, technologies, and trends in English language education.
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