1. AI World Series 2026

Organizer: Arcet Global
Date: May 8, 2026
Location: Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, UAE

This event celebrates cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence, showcasing how AI is transforming organizations, including the realm of Employee Experience. The AI World Series 2026 features live judging by over 150 international experts, with awards given across categories including EX technology, automation, and predictive analytics. Attendees include business leaders, HR innovators, and digital transformation heads who are leveraging AI to better understand and serve their employees.

2. Customer Centricity World Series 2026

Organizer: Arcet Global
Date: October 9, 2026
Location: Dubai, UAE

This is the world’s largest event devoted to Customer Experience, but its emphasis on internal culture and EX makes it essential for HR leaders. With participants from over 50 countries, this global awards event recognizes excellence in internal engagement, employee listening, and culture transformation. Categories often include Best Employee Experience Strategy and Best Use of Insight & Feedback, drawing cross-functional teams from both HR and CX backgrounds.

3. International Employee Experience Awards 2026

Organizer: Awards International
Date: June 5, 2026
Location: Hybrid (London & Virtual)

This event is widely respected for its transparency and focus on learning. Each finalist receives detailed feedback from a panel of independent judges, making it a benchmarking opportunity as much as a competition. It features categories covering onboarding innovation, employee wellbeing, leadership engagement, and AI integration in EX, making it highly relevant to the evolving workplace.

4. X4 2026: The Experience Management Summit

Organizer: Qualtrics
Date: March 17–19, 2026
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

X4 is one of the most influential global events for experience management. With a strong track focused on EX, it brings together pioneers from Fortune 500 companies, researchers, and behavioral scientists to share real-world strategies on boosting employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction. The sessions are dynamic, and the insights are backed by data and research.

5. SHRM Talent 2026

Organizer: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Date: April 19–22, 2026
Location: Dallas, TX, USA (with virtual access)

One of the world’s most trusted HR bodies delivers a talent-specific summit designed to address recruitment, onboarding, learning, and employee journey mapping. Expect hands-on workshops, technology showcases, and expert panels on trends impacting Gen Z, hybrid workforces, and employee-driven culture shaping.

6. North American HR Executive Summit 2026

Organizer: Executive Platforms
Date: March 30 – April 1, 2026
Location: TBA

This summit is exclusively for senior HR executives. The content focuses on strategic challenges such as DEI implementation, talent pipelines, leadership development, and digital tools for managing performance and wellbeing. What sets it apart is its intimate, executive-level format which encourages in-depth discussions and strategic collaborations.

7. Wellbeing at Work Summit USA 2026

Organizer: Wellbeing at Work
Date: March 3–5, 2026
Location: New York and Austin, TX

This is a cornerstone event for wellbeing professionals, with topics ranging from mental health initiatives to financial wellness programs and burnout prevention. The summit brings together wellness officers, HR leaders, and employee engagement managers who are redefining how work and wellbeing intersect.

8. Transform 2026

Organizer: Transform
Date: March 23–25, 2026
Location: Wynn Las Vegas, NV

Transform brings together innovators from startups, tech giants, and global brands to explore the future of work. With a mix of thought-provoking keynotes, startup pitches, and culture-focused panels, this event emphasizes EX strategy, HR innovation, and leadership agility. It’s known for being high-energy, highly practical, and full of next-generation tools.

9. Future of Work Expo 2026

Organizer: TMCnet
Date: February 10–12, 2026
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Future of Work Expo explores the intersection of technology and employee engagement. Topics include collaboration platforms, digital transformation, and automation of EX operations. It attracts IT leaders, HR heads, and business innovators looking to design employee experiences for hybrid, remote, and AI-powered environments.

10. Wellbeing at Work Summit Middle East 2026

Organizer: Wellbeing at Work
Date: January 26 – February 5, 2026
Location: Multiple cities including Cairo, Muscat, Riyadh, and Dubai

This regional edition brings wellbeing innovation to the Middle East with a city-by-city format. Topics cover emotional resilience, leadership wellbeing, organizational mental health strategies, and designing workplaces for compassion and collaboration. Each city offers locally contextualized discussions, making it relevant across diverse business environments.

11. Middle East Coatings Show 2026

Organizer: dmg events
Date: April 14–16, 2026
Location: UAE

While primarily focused on coatings and industrial innovation, this event has emerging relevance for EX leaders exploring workspace aesthetics, employee comfort, and sensory workplace design. Professionals from facilities, design, and HR backgrounds attend to explore how physical environments influence employee wellbeing.

12. NASPA MENASA Area Annual Conference 2026

Organizer: NASPA
Date: TBA
Location: TBA

This regional education-centric conference spans the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. It includes development sessions on employee engagement within educational institutions, leadership development, and managing staff experience across international campuses. Valuable for those in academia and public sector HR.

13. FutureNet Middle East & North Africa 2026

Organizer: FutureNet World
Date: May 27–28, 2026
Location: TBA

Primarily a telecoms innovation event, FutureNet MENA includes strong sessions on AI and automation's impact on workforce structure and employee experience. Attendees explore operational transformation, workforce agility, and predictive talent engagement tools relevant to digital-first industries.

14. ISS World Middle East & Africa 2026

Organizer: TeleStrategies
Date: February 11–13, 2026
Location: TBA

Though focused on intelligence and cybersecurity, this event includes critical content on staff resilience, digital trust, psychological safety, and workforce integrity in high-risk environments. Especially relevant for government, defense, and law enforcement agencies.

15. HR Summit and Expo 2026

Organizer: Informa Connect
Date: November 2026
Location: Dubai, UAE

The largest HR gathering in the Middle East, this expo blends strategic HR insights with future-of-work innovations. Keynotes, panel debates, and startup showcases explore leadership, DEI, engagement tech, and transforming HR into an EX powerhouse. A must-attend for HR professionals across the region.

16. Employee Engagement Summit Asia 2026

Organizer: TBA
Date: August 2026
Location: Singapore

This regional gathering is laser-focused on boosting engagement levels in Asia’s dynamic workplaces. Sessions explore digital tools for connection, feedback frameworks, EX in manufacturing and fintech, and leadership models for younger workforces. It’s particularly relevant for Southeast Asia’s rising employee experience scene.

17. Africa HR Summit 2026

Organizer: TBA
Date: September 2026
Location: Nairobi, Kenya

This summit addresses the unique cultural and infrastructural challenges of African workforces, with deep dives into inclusion, employee mobility, digital upskilling, and engagement strategies in fast-growing economies. Regional CEOs and CHROs present real-world case studies, making this an essential event for EX practitioners across Africa.

18. Future Forward Middle East 2026

Organizer: Economic Times HRME
Date: To be announced
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (tentative)

This event is designed for senior HR leaders exploring the future of work, employee wellbeing, and cultural alignment in the Middle East. With a mix of keynotes, panels, and strategy sessions, it centers on redefining the employee journey in government, finance, and family-owned business sectors across the region. Known for spotlighting regional CX-EX case studies, this event is where thought leadership meets local execution.

19. GITEX Impact: Future of Work Pavilion 2026

Organizer: Dubai World Trade Centre
Date: October 2026
Location: Dubai, UAE

GITEX Impact includes a focused “Future of Work” pavilion that explores automation, employee-centric tech, behavioral analytics, and smart workplace systems. Expect demos of real-time sentiment tracking tools, AI-led engagement software, and case studies from across the Gulf region’s most digital-forward enterprises. It’s a space where IT and HR finally talk the same language.

20. HR Vision Middle East 2026

Organizer: HR Vision
Date: April 2026
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tailored specifically for HR professionals navigating rapid economic diversification, this event is a hub for HR tech, cultural transformation, and upskilling in high-growth industries. What makes it stand out is its use of behavioral science as a framework for designing sustainable EX strategies. Leaders from sectors like education, hospitality, and logistics gather to rethink onboarding, DEI, and engagement rituals.

21. Asia HR Conference 2026

Organizer: Singapore HR Institute
Date: August 2026
Location: Singapore

One of the largest HR gatherings in Asia, this conference emphasizes multi-generational workforce management, leadership coaching, and psychological safety at work. You’ll find strong representation from financial services, education, and healthcare. Case studies from Japan, Malaysia, and India often take the spotlight, showcasing the diversity and cultural nuance of Asian EX.

22. Digital HR & EX Summit Africa 2026

Organizer: Local HR networks and tech partners
Date: July 2026
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

This event explores the role of digital transformation in shaping employee experiences across the African continent. Key topics include mobile-first engagement, DEI strategies for multinational operations, and leadership development for Gen Z talent. It highlights success stories from Nigerian banks, Kenyan startups, and South African telecoms adapting to distributed workforce challenges.

23. GCC People Experience Forum 2026

Organizer: Regional HR Associations (GCC Council)
Date: October 2026
Location: Doha, Qatar

This forum is one of the few events fully focused on integrating behavioral economics into the employee journey. It attracts EX strategists, behavioral scientists, and service designers working on large transformation programs in public services, real estate, and national talent development. Expect a high concentration of government-backed initiatives and signature experiences shared by the Gulf’s top employers.

24. Learning Technologies MENA 2026

Organizer: Learning Technologies Series
Date: September 2026
Location: Dubai, UAE

With learning being a crucial part of the EX puzzle, this event focuses on the integration of upskilling programs, digital coaching platforms, and learning journeys personalized through behavioral data. L&D and HR teams come together to bridge performance gaps and rethink employee enablement—one of the ten pillars in the Renascence CX framework.

25. People First Leadership Forum India 2026

Organizer: People Matters
Date: November 2026
Location: Mumbai, India

Centered around leadership empathy, team enablement, and future-fit organizations, this event explores how cultural intelligence and behavioral psychology are reshaping modern leadership. It includes roundtables on emotional contagion, remote team trust-building, and recognition as a leadership behavior—not just an HR tactic.

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