Create AI videos with 240+ avatars in 160+ languages.
Create engaging training videos in 160+ languages.
In 2026, the most valuable learning and development conversations are spread across enterprise conferences, industry festivals, executive forums, and cross-functional spaces where learning strategy emerges through real business priorities.
For L&D professionals, this creates a real challenge: limited travel budgets, limited time, and no shortage of events claiming to define “the future of learning.”
This guide is a map of where different kinds of learning conversations happen.
Whether you’re a CLO deciding where to invest for the year or a learning practitioner choosing one event that will genuinely move your thinking forward, the goal is the same: get into the right rooms.
👋 The Synthesia team will be at several of these events. If you see us, come say hi. We'd love to chat about using AI to scale learning impact.
A Snapshot of L&D Conferences to Know in 2026
North America (NoAM)
North America hosts some of the world’s largest and most influential learning events. The region includes large enterprise conferences, smaller conversation-driven gatherings, and cross-industry forums that attract learning, talent, and transformation leaders.
Below, North American events are grouped by the kind of conversation they tend to enable.
Enterprise & L&D-led conferences
ATD International Conference & EXPO — Los Angeles, USA
ATD is the largest global gathering for learning professionals. It brings together enterprise L&D leaders, practitioners, vendors, and researchers to explore strategy, technology, and practice across a wide range of industries and roles.
DevLearn Conference & Expo — Las Vegas, USA
DevLearn focuses on learning design, technology, and execution. The program emphasizes how learning is built and delivered, with strong participation from learning technologists, instructional designers, and innovation teams.
The Learning Ideas Conference — New York, USA
The Learning Ideas Conference brings together learning practitioners, researchers, designers, and technologists to explore how learning is evolving across work, education, and digital environments. With a strong emphasis on ideas, experimentation, and dialogue, it offers learning leaders a space to engage with emerging thinking and connect research with practice.
Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE) — Raleigh, USA
TICE offers a more focused, senior-oriented environment. Sessions and roundtables concentrate on learning strategy, leadership, and organizational alignment, with an emphasis on peer exchange.
Cross-industry and adjacent forums
SXSW EDU — Austin, USA
SXSW EDU brings together educators, technologists, policymakers, and learning leaders. It is widely attended for perspective-setting, early signals, and cross-disciplinary discussion related to learning, work, and society.
Future of Work — US, Canada, and APAC
Future of Work attracts senior HR, L&D, and transformation leaders. Conversations focus on skills, leadership, and workforce capability, providing context for how learning fits into broader people strategies at enterprise scale.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Across EMEA, learning conversations take place in a mix of established L&D conferences, invitation-led leadership forums, and broader people, technology, and cultural events. Many organizations use a combination of these spaces to connect learning strategy with regional, regulatory, and business contexts.
Enterprise & L&D-led conferences
Learning Technologies Conference & Exhibition — London, UK
Learning Technologies is a major workplace learning event in Europe. It combines a large exhibition with a paid conference program covering learning strategy, technology, analytics, and content development.
World of Learning Summit & Conference — London, UK
World of Learning events bring together L&D practitioners, leaders, and vendors in a more compact format. They are commonly attended by teams looking for practical approaches and peer exchange.
LEARNTEC — Karlsruhe, Germany
LEARNTEC is a long-running European event focused on learning technology, vocational learning, and digital education. It attracts corporate learning teams, platform owners, and practitioners working with large-scale learning systems.
ATD Middle East Conference — Abu Dhabi, UAE
ATD Middle East serves learning and talent development leaders across the Gulf region. Discussions often center on workforce development, leadership capability, and large-scale transformation initiatives.
L&D Africa — TBC, South Africa
&D Africa is a pan-African learning and development community that connects practitioners and leaders across countries and industries. Through conferences, meetups, and online programming, it creates space for sharing practice, building capability, and discussing learning in the context of African organizations and talent markets.
Cross-functional and cultural spaces
UNLEASH World — Paris, France
UNLEASH World is a global HR and workforce technology conference. Learning and skills are discussed as part of broader conversations about people strategy, technology platforms, and organizational change.
Offbeat Fest — London
Offbeat is a creative and cultural festival focused on communication, collaboration, and modern work. Learning leaders often attend to explore new perspectives on engagement, storytelling, and how ideas move through organizations.
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Across APAC, learning and development conversations are shaped by scale, localization, and close alignment with business and workforce priorities. Many organizations operate across multiple countries and languages, making learning delivery, consistency, and adaptation central topics.
The region includes large education and workforce events, enterprise learning conferences, and forums where learning is discussed alongside skills development, technology, and national workforce strategy.
Enterprise & L&D-led conferences
EduTECH — Sydney, Australia
EduTECH is one of the largest education and training events in the Asia–Pacific region. While it spans education, vocational training, and corporate learning, it is widely attended by enterprise L&D leaders exploring digital learning, AI, and workforce capability at scale.
Asia L&D & Employer Branding Conference — Bengaluru, India
This event connects learning, culture, and employer branding, with strong participation from enterprise HR and L&D leaders across India and Southeast Asia. Conversations often focus on skills development, engagement, and learning’s role in talent attraction and retention.
Education Korea — Seoul, South KoreaEducation Korea is a large regional exhibition and conference focused on education, training, and learning technology. While it spans academic, vocational, and corporate learning, it provides useful perspective for learning leaders interested in how skills development, technology, and workforce readiness are evolving across South Korea and East Asia.
Cross-functional and workforce forums
People Matters TechHR — Singapore
People Matters TechHR is a major APAC gathering focused on HR, technology, and transformation. Learning leaders attend to engage with conversations around skills, capability development, and the role of technology in enabling workforce readiness across the region.
About the author
Strategic Advisor
Kevin Alster
Kevin Alster is a Strategic Advisor at Synthesia, where he helps global enterprises apply generative AI to improve learning, communication, and organizational performance. His work focuses on translating emerging technology into practical business solutions that scale.He brings over a decade of experience in education, learning design, and media innovation, having developed enterprise programs for organizations such as General Assembly, The School of The New York Times, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Kevin combines creative thinking with structured problem-solving to help companies build the capabilities they need to adapt and grow.
How should senior L&D leaders decide which conferences to attend in 2026?
Start by clarifying what kind of conversation you need. Large enterprise conferences are best for benchmarking, vendor evaluation, and peer comparison. Smaller or cross-industry events are often better for sense-making, early signals, and strategic reflection. With limited time and budget, the goal is to be in the right rooms.
Are these conferences only relevant for senior L&D leaders?
No. Many of these events attract a mix of senior leaders and practitioners. While senior attendees may focus on strategy and direction, practitioners often attend for hands-on ideas, exposure to new tools, and peer learning. The same conference can deliver very different value depending on how you engage with it.
Why are some non-L&D events included in this list?
Some of the most meaningful learning conversations don’t happen at events labeled “L&D.” Cross-industry conferences and industry-specific forums often surface how learning shows up inside real business challenges. For experienced L&D professionals, these spaces can be just as valuable as traditional learning conferences.
Should L&D professionals attend conferences in their own industry instead?
Often, yes. As learning becomes more embedded in how organizations operate, industry-specific conferences can provide deeper context than general L&D events. Asking peers where meaningful discussions happen inside your sector is often the fastest way to identify the most relevant rooms.
How does AI video support learning after these conferences?
Many teams return from conferences with strong ideas, but limited capacity to act on them. AI video helps L&D teams turn insights into scalable, consistent learning content that can be updated, localized, and shared across the organization without traditional production overhead.
