NEXT Conference

The digital festival on the Reeperbahn

Every September, we transform Hamburg’s Reeperbahn into a hotspot of the European digital scene. Since 2015, we have been organizing the NEXT Conference in collaboration with Accenture Song (formerly SinnerSchrader). This event brings together decision-makers, strategists, innovators, doers, and designers to discuss what will drive us digitally in the future: What will the user of tomorrow want? How will technology shape behavior? Which business models belong to the future?

The NEXT is a carefully curated festival of digital pop culture, and an annual event dedicated to critical thinking. Each morning, international speakers provide thought-provoking insights at Schmidts Tivoli Theater, and each afternoon, we open bars and clubs on the Reeperbahn for lively debates. The musical backdrop of the “Reeperbahn Festival” ensures a harmonious balance between “corporate and culture.”

Speakers at NEXT have included Amy Webb, Azeem Azhar, Anab Jain, Andrew Keen, Bruce Sterling, George Dyson, Tim Leberecht, Tim Ferris, Harper Reed, and many more.

Over the years, NEXT has evolved into an interdisciplinary and internationally connected platform that continuously offers new perspectives and stimulates discussions. We provide the ever-growing NEXT community with experiences and content throughout the year. What began as a single event has now become a series of events, all sharing the atmosphere of an intimate gathering among friends—each NEXT event is “invitation only.”

The mottos of NEXT capture the “zeitgeist” and, in retrospect, reflect a piece of digital history: from the optimistic “Celebrating Digital Culture” to the provocative “Digital Sucks,” from the call to “Let’s Fix Digital!” through the complexity of “Parallelwelten” to this year’s theme, “New Energy – Recharging Our Systems.”

Under this year’s motto, on September 19, 2024, we will explore the intersection of AI innovation and new interfaces, creativity and transformation—and our own human energy levels. Interested in joining? Please apply here.