DigitalGovernanceSummit
- Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest
- 19 November 2026
Get ready for a day of discussions on AI, digital identity and the trust it takes to govern both.
Governance. From the Latin gubernare. To steer.
To govern is to keep a hand on the wheel of something powerful, to set its direction without being swept along by it. The AI revolution, an engine of extraordinary force, is becoming increasingly present in our daily lives, and the oldest task of governing faces new challenges: to stay flexible enough, under the heat of new technologies, to draw out their full potential, yet remain sturdy enough to steer them safely and ethically in the service of citizens.
Proving who we are in the digital world, through digital identity, is a corollary topic, equally linked to safety and trust. Governing the AI revolution and securing our identity in the digital world, non-negotiable challenges that states around the world must navigate to preserve the very foundation of state legitimacy, are the two topics that guide this year’s Summit.
This is where the future issteered.
Who will be there?
Ministers, secretaries of state and civil servants
The people who sign and the people who implement.
International experts
What worked in other countries, told by the people who built it.
Companies building the technology
Tech, digital, finance, telecom, consulting.
Civil society
Notices first when a service fails a person.
Researchers, teachers and students
Will run these systems for the next thirty years.
Elected officials, civil servants, leaders from the private sector, civil society and experts, in the same room around one conviction: for digital transformation to happen, clear governance, empowerment and political consensus can no longer be postponed.
Be one of them this yearBuilding capacity in the age of AI
To govern implies deciding on behalf of citizens and, theoretically, in their best interest. The state’s legitimacy rests not only on its authority to act, but on its capacity to act well, as artificial intelligence has already begun reorganising how we work, learn, heal and are governed.
The ambition of the Intelligent State is a state that uses AI deliberately to serve citizens better, enabling faster services, earlier interventions and institutions that learn, and that governs AI with rules it understands and enforces itself. Commitment is the keyword that will determine whether the ambition succeeds, as a vision put forward means little in terms of actual impact without stable institutions, standing budgets and a political consensus that outlives the electoral cycle.
European digital identity: adoption as the metric of success of EUDI Wallets
The EUDI Wallet is Europe’s answer to fragmentation and, under the revised eIDAS Regulation, every Member State must offer one by the end of 2026: state-recognised, interoperable, valid in all 27 Member States, in public and private services alike.
The citizen holds the credentials and shares only what a service needs: proof of age without the rest of the ID card, a licence without the home address.
However, what the regulation alone cannot deliver is use. That comes from the ecosystem around the wallet: issuers, relying parties, trust services and a team that keeps working for this purpose even after launch.
Agenda
The agenda is taking shape.
Sessions for both stages are being finalised and will be published as they’re confirmed. Check back soon.
Speakers
Main stage
Main stage
Wallet stage
Wallet stage
Main stage
Wallet stage
Main stage
Wallet stageCotroceni Palace
Access to Cotroceni Palace is granted on the basis of prior registration and a valid ID. Details on the access protocol will be sent to registered participants before the event.
This is what last year’s edition looked like
The future is steered by those in the room.
Take your seat.
Participation is by prior registration and confirmation. Seats are limited.
- Thursday, 19 November 2026
- 09:00 to 16:00, access from 08:30
- Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest