Conference Format
How the conference is designed to work
The ABN Annual Conference 2026 is designed to balance shared dialogue with focused engagement across specialised areas of practice.
Participants experience both shared plenary moments and specialised sessions. The conference opens and closes together, while allowing focused engagement where deeper thematic discussion is useful.
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Conference Architecture
Parallel Sessions — Focused engagement
Alongside plenaries, focused parallel sessions allow:
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Specialised discussion within the five conference pillars
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Technical workshops and practice-based exchanges
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Case discussions among practitioners with shared context
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Thematic dialogues requiring deeper disciplinary engagement
Session allocation between plenary and parallel is determined by content relevance, audience breadth, and opportunities for cross-sectoral engagement.
Focused Community Sessions — Targeted and operational
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Working Group meetings
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Country Representative coordination
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Mentorship pods and early-career programming
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Emerging Voices presentations
Collective Sessions — All participants together
Shared plenary sessions bring participants together around cross-cutting ethical questions:
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Opening Palaver-style dialogue
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Cross-cutting plenary discussions across all pillars
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Synthesis and closing plenary
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Gala dinner and recognition ceremony
These sessions support common reference points, reflective discussion, and cross-sectoral engagement across the conference community.