Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – How will work and education change? What space will the new generations have? How will cinema, mobility, housing, and the relationship between people, businesses, and cities evolve? From September 21st to 27th, Rome Future Week returns with its fourth edition, bringing these questions to Rome through hundreds of events and a network that brings together companies, institutions, universities, schools, research centers, startups, professionals, students, and the public.
With less than two weeks to go until the start of the event, held with the support of Eni and Road-Rome Advanced District as the event's main partners, the 2026 program is coming to life around 'Raw Materials', this year's theme: an invitation to look at the people, skills, ideas, and relationships that shape transformations.
For seven days, the city will be filled with meetings and projects dedicated to work, education, cinema, artificial intelligence, health, sustainability, space, mobility, and new ways of experiencing and imagining Rome.
The program will be structured through eleven Future Hubs, thematic locations designed to observe these changes from different perspectives and connect worlds, experiences, and skills.
A widespread and participatory dimension that over the years has built an ever-growing community: in the first three editions, Rome Future Week hosted 974 events, involving over 75.000 participants, 250 ambassadors, and 1.000 organizers.
"The point is not to try to guess what the future will be, but to understand the skills, ideas, and relationships we are already building it with. Rome Future Week was born precisely to connect different worlds and transform this energy into concrete opportunities for Rome and its residents," says Michele Franzese, founder of Rome Future Week. Partners for the 2026 edition include Sole 24 Ore Business School, Deep Blue, Nextchem, Banca d'Italia, Direzione Lavoro, NHRG, Training Academy, IUL – Università Telematica degli Studi, Rai Cinema, Anica Academy, Lime, and ADR – Aeroporti di Roma.
A central theme of the 2026 edition is the future of work, addressed through the evolution of skills, organizational models, and the role of people. Sole 24 Ore Business School will open the doors of its Rome campus with four events, including an open day designed for recent graduates with a focus on innovation. The new meanings of work, the People function, and the relationship between human and artificial intelligence will also be explored. Deep Blue will also contribute to the debate by participating in the Future Hubs "Neura: Around AI" and "Celeste: Beyond the Stars," with talks dedicated to the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence, ethics, human factors, and the relationship between technological innovation and security.
On the skills and employability front, Direzione Lavoro, NHRG, and the Training Academy will offer concrete perspectives on career guidance, vocational training, matching labor supply and demand, and emerging business needs. The dialogue between innovation and training will also be supported by IUL – Università Telematica degli Studi, with a particular focus on the impact of artificial intelligence and EdTech on educational models.
As Carlo Maria Medaglia, IUL's vice-rector for the Third Mission, emphasizes: "Innovation in education isn't just about technology, but the ability to rethink tools, skills, and learning methods. By participating in Rome Future Week, IUL is bringing the discussion on the future of education and its transformations linked to AI and EdTech to the forefront. Establishing a dialogue between universities, schools, research, and businesses is essential to building an education system capable of supporting the growth of new generations."
On September 21st, Rome's Casa del Cinema will host the debut of Frame, the Future Hub dedicated to the evolution of cinema and audiovisual media. The day will feature institutional events, screenings, workshops, and meetings dedicated to generative artificial intelligence, virtual production, editing, post-production, and new professions in the industry. Young filmmakers will also be at the center of the program through Corti Futuri, Rome Future Week's creative contest designed to offer younger generations not only a platform for visibility, but also concrete opportunities for interaction with professionals, producers, and institutions. Among the awards planned for Corti Futuri is the publication of the winning short film on Rai Cinema Channel.
Additionally, a special prize, "Best University Short Film," has been established. This award will be awarded by a jury of Rome Future Week among the short films of Studenti in Corto, a Rai Cinema project dedicated to promoting young authors and emerging languages, developed in collaboration with Italian universities and film schools. The projects are part of the event's broader system of institutional collaborations, which sees the Lazio Region as the main institutional partner of Rome Future Week 2026, as part of the ERDF Lazio 2021-2027 regional program.
Also dedicated to the younger generations is Base Futuro, the project that brings Rome Future Week directly into Rome's schools, transforming them into places of discussion and participation. The program will involve seven schools and at least eight events, with an estimated participation of approximately 20 classes, 700 students, and 65 teachers and school staff. The goal is to empower young people to take the lead in ongoing changes, enhancing school as a place to observe what's happening, exchange perspectives, and imagine new possibilities.
The program will also explore some of the major economic and environmental transformations of the coming years. On September 24, Nextchem, the Maire Group company dedicated to sustainable technology solutions, will be the protagonist of the Planet & People event, with a panel dedicated to green chemistry technologies and solutions that, from a European perspective, support the decarbonization of energy and industrial systems. On September 25, the Bank of Italy will participate in Rome Future Week with an event dedicated to the digital euro and the future of the common currency. Deputy Director General Chiara Scotti will open the event. This will be followed by a presentation of the project and a roundtable discussion with key representatives of the payments industry. These diverse themes reflect one of the event's defining elements: connecting different perspectives and expertise to understand the transformations currently affecting the economy and society from multiple perspectives. The fourth edition will feature eleven Future Hubs, thematic venues where participants can explore the transformations affecting work, artificial intelligence, health, cinema, education, space, mobility, housing, sustainability, and new forms of enterprise.
A widespread dimension that will involve numerous locations in the capital. Lime will once again be the event's Mobility Partner for the 2026 edition, helping to facilitate participants' travel between the various venues. Enrico Stefàno, Deputy Regional Head - Italy, states: "We are proud to once again support Rome Future Week as a mobility partner, facilitating participants' travel between the various locations. Events like this are essential for promoting concrete discussion on the issues that are transforming our cities, and we are happy to help make it easier for people to participate, meet, and share ideas."
ADR – Aeroporti di Roma (Rome Airports) has also joined the event's network of partners. Rome Future Week 2026 is organized in collaboration with the Department of Productive Activities, Equal Opportunities, and Investment Attraction of Rome Capital. Valeria Baglio, Councilor for Productive Activities, Equal Opportunities, and Investment Attraction, states: "Rome Future Week surprises every year with its ability to transform the capital into a true innovation hub. It will once again be a widespread event open to all, with dozens of events, meetings, and debates capable of transforming every corner of the city—schools, universities, museums, squares, and Rome's House of Emerging Technologies—into a single, vast hotbed of ideas, creativity, and talent at the service of the people and the city. A hotbed where young people, startups, and businesses, thanks to Rome Future Week, will once again gain space, visibility, and attract new investment. It is an invitation to discover and actively participate, to confirm and expand the success of past editions, and above all to demonstrate that the protagonists of innovation and technology are and always will be people and human relationships, the true heritage of the future and of change."
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