Originally published on the altc blog, 22 May 2026.
In June this year two conferences take place that celebrate important milestones in Open Education and Learning Technology: the Irish Learning Technology Association’s annual EdTech Conference, 3-4 June in Dublin, celebrates its 25th anniversary under the theme EdTech You: Digital Learning From How to Who. Just a few weeks later the OER26 Conference convenes at the Open University in Milton Keynes, to focus on Openness Reimagined: Continuity, Change and Shared Vision and celebrate several anniversaries, including 20 years of OpenLearn and 30 years of the Journal of Interactive Media in Education.
As a big fan of both conferences and their communities, between which there’s plenty of crossover, I am fortunate to attend both this year and a deeper dive into the themes of both events prompted me to reflect on the crossover between the themes, and how each of these events may act as a catalyst for action and for hopeful change across sectors.
The ILTA Co-Chairs, Dr Rob Lowney and Kate Molloy, and the organising committee, pose the following questions:
- “We invite you to join us in a conversation that asks:
- Who was, is and should be the people of your/our Edtech community?
- Who was, is or was missing from conversations about digital pedagogies ?
- Who are we designing for (or against) in EdTech, and who is missing?”
For me, these questions relate closely to the wider context and the challenges it poses which are at the heart of OER26 led by Dr. Robert Farrow and Dr Beck Pitt:
“Openness has expanded participation, reshaped practice, and challenged assumptions about who education is for and how it should be delivered. Yet openness is not static. It evolves alongside the social, political, and technological conditions in which it operates. The rapid development of AI systems, platform-based infrastructures, shifting policy environments, new economic pressures, and renewed global debates about equity and justice are reshaping the terrain of open education.”
In both themes I see a call to (collective) action, a sense of urgency that care and connection should help determine the shape of things to come, rather than allowing technological imperatives to set the agenda. In addition, the milestones being celebrated reflect decades of valuable expertise and experience, of knowledge about the “how” of innovation in both open education and learning technology, and the invaluable work of (often volunteer) reviewers, contributors and collaborators.
Times may feel more uncertain than ever, and this is precisely why events like this, organised by member organisations in partnership with universities and volunteers, are so important: they open up space for reflection and discussion, galvanise action and help build new alliances and collaborations.
So here’s to you, OER26 and EdTech 2026! Like hundreds of fellow participants, I very much look forward to celebrating the milestones, swap stories and share inspiration come conference week!
