Citizen 2026
EVENT | The Future of citizen communication starts here
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Physical event in Stockholm. Digital broadcast globally.
Join us for a full day exploring how local governments across Europe are building better, more independent channels to reach their citizens.
Citizen 2026 brings together communication leaders, digital transformation experts, and innovative municipalities to discuss the strategic shift towards owned citizen channels - moving beyond platform dependency to create direct, reliable connections with residents.
What to expect
A day focused on the big questions shaping public sector communication:
- Building owned channels: strategies for independence from Meta and other platforms
- Direct citizen engagement: apps, web, and emerging channels
- Nordic best practices: real cases from pioneering municipalities
- Crisis & preparedness communication 2.0
- The future of local government communication
When & where
- Thursday September 17, 2026 at 9:00 - 16:00
- Where: Sveasalen, c/o United Spaces, Sveavägen 34, Stockholm - ten minutes walk from Stockholm Central Station
- Or, remote attendance, by stream/video - link distributed on sign-up
- Afternoon program: Networking + drinks for a couple of hours from 16:00
Many municipalities have lulled themselves into the belief that we cannot do without Big Tech's platforms. But we can — and we should!
Speakers & Panelists
We're bringing together leading voices from across the Nordic region and beyond. The speaker lineup is filling up with strategic thinkers, experienced practitioners, and municipalities who are leading the way.
We're happy to announce the contributors - with more coming!
Pascal Tshibanda
CONTRIBUTOR | CITIZEN 2026 | Pascal Tshibanda is Head of Communications at Norrköping Municipality. Previously, he served as Communications Director in Botkyrka and Head of Communications in Katrineholm and Falköping.
Astrid Haug
SPEAKER CITIZEN 2026 | Astrid is one of Scandinavia’s sharpest voices on digital sovereignty. At Kommunikationsdøgn 2025 in Denmark, she challenged municipalities to reconsider their dependence on Meta and X. Not just as a practical GDPR risk, but as a question of democratic values.
Edvard Unsgaard
SPEAKER CITIZEN 2026 | Edvard Unsgaard has spent his career on both sides of the hardest conversations in public life. He spent seven years as a political journalist and Moscow correspondent at Sveriges Radio’s Ekot, before becoming Press Secretary to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. He knows what it looks like when institutions are put under pressure, and what separates those that communicate well from those that don’t.
Carmel O’Hare
CONTRIBUTOR | CITIZEN 2026 | Carmel O’Hare is Director of Services for Corporate Services, Innovation and Emergency Management at Monaghan County Council, Ireland.
See the full list of contributors, here →
Sessions & detailed agenda are being updated here →
Municipalities should not only communicate to citizens, but rather co-create with them.
Hybrid format
- In Stockholm: Full-day experience including networking, lunch, and optional evening program
- Venue details to be announced.
- Digital: High-quality broadcast for global participants.
Registration open now
Our goal is to make this accessible - we're focused on covering costs for the event, not making profit.
What does it cost
- Full-day experience in Stockholm - including networking, lunch, and optional evening program: 1500 SEK for Innocode clients & 2000 SEK for non-clients
- Digital participation - including all speakers and recording: 1000 SEK.
- Practical workshop program, Friday morning - included for all visitors in Stockholm who wish to attend.
20% of all attendee fees go to Dzyga's Paw dzygaspaw.com , a Lviv-based nonprofit supporting Ukrainian defenders. You'll also have the opportunity to donate individually during the event. More info int the partne's secion, below.
Sign up for your participation
For payments/invoicing - we will be in touch.
EVENT PARTNERS
Citizen 2026 is made possible by partners who share our belief in open, independent communication - between governments and citizens, and between people.
We're also proud to partner with Dzyga's Paw, a Lviv-based nonprofit that crowdfunds technology for Ukrainian defenders with full transparency. As a company with roots in Lviv, this cause is close to us. 20% of all attendee fees from Citizen 2026 go directly to their work, and we'll also make it easy to donate individually during the event 💙💛
Partnership opportunities? We're working with select partners who share our vision for better citizen communication. Get in touch to learn more.
CITIZEN 2026 is organized by Innocode in collaboration with leading Nordic municipalities and technology partners.
