ORAM Next Gen Festival returns to UP Events for 2026

Some decisions are easy. Bringing the festival back to UP Events Amsterdam was one of them.

The first edition of ORAM Next Gen Festival was built on a specific bet: that the right venue could do more than host an event. That it could create the conditions for the kind of cross-sector, cross-organisation interaction that doesn't happen in a standard conference room. UP Events delivered on that. So we're back.

The festival brings together young professionals, companies, public institutions and knowledge partners to work on the complex transitions reshaping the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, from energy and port infrastructure to digitalisation and talent development. That work requires more than a stage and some chairs. It requires a setting where people actually move, actually talk to each other, actually feel like they're somewhere worth being.

Location as a condition for connection.

Organiser Renko de Vries is direct about why this matters:

"I'm proud of this partnership. UP Events understands what we're trying to build. It's not just about hosting an event, it's about creating the right conditions for people to actually connect and collaborate."

UP Events has what traditional conference venues don't: an open layout that encourages movement, an informal structure that lowers the threshold for conversation, and a setting in Amsterdam-West that feels like it belongs to the city rather than a business park. Those things aren't aesthetic choices. They're functional ones. The format of the festival depends on them.

A congrestival, not a conference.

The format has a name: a congrestival. It combines the depth of a congress with the energy of a festival and the structure of a co-creation session. You choose your own route through the program. You move between stages. And the goal isn't just knowledge transfer, it's bringing people together around real challenges and creating enough trust, context and momentum for the collaboration to continue after everyone goes home.

In 2026, for the first time, that means working with challenges brought in by partner organisations. Groups of young professionals will work on them live during the festival. The results go back to the partners. And ORAM actively works to build the coalitions needed to move the most promising directions forward.

With the venue confirmed, the focus now shifts to the program and the partnerships. Speaker announcements begin in April. Partner conversations are ongoing. The second edition is taking shape.