As summer fades into autumn, the true digital thinker’s thoughts turn in one direction: Hamburg’s Reeperbahn and our annual NEXT Conference. This year we’ll be bringing New Energy to the waning year, exploring our conference theme and drawing our own personal energy from the creativity of the Reeperbahn Festival surrounding us.

The Event: NEXT24

Since we moved to a one-day format, we endeavour to provide you with an intense — and intensely enjoyable — day of insights and learning. You can start the day with us, over coffee and pastries. And our integration with the festival (see below) offers you the opportunity to finish the day to great music.

As in previous years, we’ll be in the Schmidt’s Tivoli theatre on Reeperbahn until mid-afternoon. And then, you’ll be offered the choice of a range of immersive or deep-dive sessions across the city (see Venues, below), before we finally come back together for the closing party.

Have a look at the full schedule.

The Theme: New Energy — recharging our systems

The cycle of digital has turned from the bright and optimistic tone of the late 2000s and the early 2010s to scepticism and even cynicism about new technology. AI, for example, seems to be at once a transformative technology and a world-ending threat.

With the Covid-dominated first half of the 2020s now firmly in the rearview mirror, we have a chance to revitalise all our systems with a digital infusion. From smart, sustainable energy, to a new wave of transformative products supported by AI to new ways of living, working and using our urban spaces.

At NEXT24, we’ll set the stage for the second half of the 2020s, and how it could be a time of much-needed positive transformation.

Why attend?

If you want a day of product pitches, an endless parade of startups and the normal thought leaders, we’re not for you. Sorry.

If, instead, you want a day of genuine insights from thinkers, leaders, and doers from a vast range of fields, who will surprise and challenge you with their talks, and dominate your thinking in the months to come, then we’re your conference.

You’ll hear from business leaders, sure, but also scientists, artists, and experts in politics and tech.

And, once we’ve expanded your minds with these insights, you’ll be able to go out and explore them further in workshops and deep-dive sessions later on in the afternoon, where our sessions get more personal and intimate.

More than just a conference

Your ticket to NEXT24 also gets you:

• Access to all public Reeperbahn Festival concerts on Sept 19th
• Access to the conference programme of the Reeperbahn Festival
  

We’ll be publishing a list of suggested sessions from both the festival and the conference closer to the day.

How NEXT feels

Get a taste of the conference with last year’s aftermovie:

Networking

For many people, the “hallcon” element of any conference is nearly as important as the speakers. There will be plenty of opportunities to network with other attendees throughout the day: from the coffee breaks at the theatre, in the hospitality venues we use in the afternoon, and at the closing party.

Venues

We pride ourselves on NEXT feeling very different to conventional digital conferences. That’s why the majority of the conference takes place in a real, working theatre: Schmidt’s Tivoli. And, unlike so many conferences, we’re going to help you explore the vibe of Hamburg itself, with the afternoon and evening sessions in a wide range of hospitality venues across the city.

From 3.30 pm onwards, there will be events at other venues. This year, we have some returning favourites and a new venue, too:

• GAGA
• Gassenhaur
• Pauli Spirit
  

Check out the venues.

Livestream & Social Media

Thankfully, the days of online-only conferences from the early 2020s are now behind us, and we’ve been able to gather together in Schmidt’s Tivoli for some years now. But you can still participate remotely if you’re unable to join us in Hamburg. There will be a livestream covering the sessions on the main stage, and videos of those sessions and many of the breakout sessions across the city in the afternoon will be available after the event.

Browse through our YouTube channel to see sessions from past events. That’s where this year’s events will appear, too. Do subscribe to get notified when new videos are ready.

During the event, you can keep track of what’s happening via your preferred social media app, using our hashtags:

Our NEXT24 hashtags

Our team will be sharing information, images, and video from the conference across a range of social platforms using these hashtags:

• #next24
• #newenergy
• #nextconf

Please do join in, and add your own insights and experiences through the day.

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See you on Reeperbahn!

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