World e-Parliament Conference returns to European Parliament after 18 years

The World e-Parliament Conference will take place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 17 and 18 November 2026, the first time the event has been held there since 2008.

The conference is co-hosted by the European Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). It brings together political leaders, senior parliamentary staff and IT experts to discuss innovative technologies in parliamentary work. The theme of this year’s global forum is “Advancing democracy and strengthening parliaments through digital transformation”.

The event gives members of parliaments and officials from around the world an opportunity to discuss technological advances that strengthen democratic resilience and parliamentary processes.

Participants will discuss good practice in accessibility and AI governance, share experiences and solutions across different levels of digital maturity, and exchange views on the role of parliaments in advancing global norms.

Three pillars

The 2026 conference will focus on three pillars.

The first, parliamentarians in a digital society, will look at parliamentarians’ evolving roles and needs, countering disinformation and fostering democratic trust.

The second, strategic leadership for the digital transformation of parliaments, covers parliamentary autonomy over data, infrastructure and technology, getting ready for AI, and managing organisational change.

The third is inter-parliamentary cooperation. It will examine how dialogue and exchange of best practice between parliamentarians from across the world contribute to the AI capacity-building of parliaments and help bridge the digital divide. It will also look at how such exchanges can make the voice of parliaments more impactful in shaping global rules and oversight mechanisms for digital technologies.

The last time the World e-Parliament Conference was held in the European Parliament was in 2008. This year’s gathering is the tenth edition.

The conference is organised in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD).

The IPU is the global organisation of national parliaments, with 184 member parliaments and 15 associate members. It was established in 1889 to facilitate parliamentary diplomacy and empower parliaments to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.