After a successful debut in 2025, Future Tech returns to Hall 14 of the RAI this year, with more features, more innovation and more of the technologies shaping the next era of media and entertainment.
New for IBC2026 is Future Tech Ignite, which will be delivered alongside Innovation Partner EIT Culture & Creativity. Future Tech Ignite will connect more than 50 start-ups, entrepreneurs and emerging technologies with the wider M&E ecosystem through its new Start-up Zone and Ignite Stage. The stage will host a four-day programme of future-focused content, talent and skills development sessions, as well as a new creative showcase. Key themes being addressed will include artificial intelligence, the creator economy, sustainability, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, education, future skills, mentorship, allyship, start-up innovation and investment.
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On Friday 11 September, the Ignite Stage will welcome the IBC Talent Programme. Consisting of dedicated sessions focused on empowering professionals and addressing key skills needs within the industry, it will bring together professionals, educators, employers, industry bodies and emerging talent to examine the opportunities and challenges facing the sector’s workforce.
Highlights will include a keynote from media cartographer Evan Shapiro on the skills needed to adapt to a fast-evolving media landscape. Other sessions will explore the state of the talent landscape in media, and the relationship between the industry and education with Rise Academy and Inholland and HvA universities of applied sciences. In addition, a what's important right now (WIRN) session will look at the real issues that industry leaders should be facing up to, including sustainability, content and data security, talent diversity, and more.
Saturday's programme will be dedicated to start-ups. Shapiro will return, this time with Marion Ranchet, Founder of Streaming Made Easy, to deliver a start-up clinic, while another WIRN session will tackle the topic of cybersecurity. Attendees will also hear from a selection of start-ups as they give five-minute pitches about their nascent businesses and the problems they are solving for media companies.
Sunday will feature a session looking at the creator economy, AV broadcast, and shifts taking place in content creation and ownership. This will be followed by more start-up pitches, and an afternoon of professional development sessions from industry advocacy groups including #GALSNGEAR, Women in Streaming Media, Rise, and Women in the Industries of Tomorrow.
The final day of IBC2026 will be dedicated to students with sessions from IBC owner stakeholders, a showcase session featuring On-Air plus short-form content showcases from Inholland and HvA students who will have been capturing footage during the show. The final session. 'WIRN Leaders of Tomorrow', will see students sharing their views on the most pressing industry matters.
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