Future Festival World Summit 2026

Unlocking the Human Advantage in Innovation

📍 Toronto, Canada
📅 30 September – 1 October 2026

Hosted by Trend Hunter, the Future Festival World Summit 2026 brings together innovators, strategists, marketers, researchers, and business leaders to explore how organisations can stay ahead of change in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

This year’s theme, Unlocking the Human Advantage in Innovation, focuses on the uniquely human capabilities—creativity, intuition, cultural understanding, and strategic thinking—that will become even more valuable as AI transforms industries and ways of working.

About the Summit

Future Festival is one of the world’s leading innovation conferences, designed for organisations seeking practical tools and strategic foresight to anticipate change and build future-ready businesses.

Rather than focusing solely on emerging technologies, the summit explores how organisations can combine AI with human intelligence to drive more meaningful innovation, better decisions, and lasting competitive advantage.

What to Expect

The two-day programme combines inspiration with practical application through:

• Keynote presentations

• Innovation strategy sessions

• Guided networking

• One-to-one meetings

• Trend Safaris

• Interactive workshops

• Experiential exhibitions

• Innovation Strategy Awards

• Opening Night Tech Reception

• Future Party and networking events

Programme Highlights

Across the two days, participants will explore topics including:

• Building Decisive Organisations

• Trend Methodology & the Annual Trend Report

• Augmented Intelligence: The Co-Pilot Strategy

• The Trust Signal

• Cultural Intelligence

• High-Signal Innovation

• The Futurist 18 Megatrends

• Patterned Thinking Workshop

• Top 10 Emerging Trends

Speakers

The programme features Trend Hunter’s team of futurists and innovation experts, including:

• Armida Ascano — Chief Insights Officer

• Jaime Underwood — Work Culture Expert & Innovation Assessment Creator

• Jennifer Kang — Retail Trend Forecaster

• Jonathon Brown — Chief Growth Officer

• Mark Onufer — Innovation Expert & Facilitator

• Sean Watson — Future Technology Trend Forecaster

• Zahra Karim — Marketing Trend Forecaster

Additional guest speakers and industry partners are announced throughout the year.

Who Should Attend?

Future Festival is designed for:

• Innovation leaders

• Strategy and foresight professionals

• Marketing and brand teams

• Product and R&D leaders

• Insights researchers

• Corporate transformation teams

• Executives responsible for future growth

Why Attend?

More than an innovation conference, Future Festival is designed as a working environment where organisations can translate trends into strategic action. Through a combination of foresight methodologies, practical frameworks, and collaborative learning, participants leave with new perspectives, concrete tools, and actionable ideas to strengthen their innovation capabilities in an increasingly uncertain world.