Explore the Program
Many Voices, One Table: Co-Creating the Future of Engagement
Welcome to the 2026 experience, guided by the theme:
The program brings together diverse perspectives across public participation practice, creating space for dialogue, learning, and exchange.
Across the three day experience, participants will engage with ideas, approaches, and real world applications that reflect how engagement continues to evolve across communities, organizations, and governments.
This page offers a clear view into the program, outlining how it is structured, what it includes, and how it continues to take shape.
Program at a Glance
The conference unfolds over three days, beginning with a shared moment of recognition and continuing into two full days of learning and exchange.
The opening evening, on October 1, brings participants together for the Gala and the presentation of the 2026 Core Values Awards, recognizing projects, organizations, and individuals advancing meaningful public participation across Canada.
The program then continues on October 2 and 3 with conference sessions, discussions, and opportunities for shared learning across the field. These days are designed to support both exploration and application, creating space to engage with ideas and consider how they translate into practice.
How the Program Comes Together
The program has been developed to support different ways of engaging, recognizing that participants move between listening, reflecting, and contributing throughout the experience.
Sessions introduce current thinking and perspectives grounded in practice, offering insight into how public participation is being approached across different contexts.
Alongside this, breakout and applied sessions focus on practical implementation, sharing tools, frameworks, and examples that reflect real-world experience.
Facilitated discussions create space for dialogue, allowing participants to engage with one another, exchange perspectives, and explore ideas in greater depth.
Equally important are the moments between sessions. Informal interaction, reflection, and continued conversation are intentionally part of the experience, supporting connection across participants.
Themes Across the Program
The program reflects a range of themes that have emerged through the call for sessions and the broader field of practice.
These include Indigenous engagement and community-informed approaches, equity and accessibility in participation processes, youth and intergenerational perspectives, and the continued development of tools and frameworks used in practice.
The program also engages with more complex dimensions of the work — including navigating conflict, supporting decision-making in challenging environments, and considering how public participation continues to evolve.
Together, these themes shape both the content of individual sessions and the overall direction of the program.
What to Expect Within the Sessions
Participants will move through a variety of session formats, each contributing to a balanced experience.
This includes keynote and featured presentations that provide context and direction, breakout sessions that explore specific topics in more depth, and facilitated conversations that support dialogue and exchange.
Interactive sessions and discussion-based formats create space for participation, while networking moments and shared spaces allow for connection beyond structured sessions.