A global platform where Industry 5.0 ideas are exchanged, tested and scaled. It brings cities, companies, researchers and investors together around real challenges, and asks every participant to leave with something measurable: a commitment, a pilot or a partnership. The Forum runs i5Dialogues in 2027 and its first flagship summit, i5Forum 2028.

Industry 5.0 builds on the digital and automation gains of Industry 4.0 and adds three priorities: industry that is human-centric, sustainable and resilient. In practice that means technology designed around the people who use it, operations that respect planetary limits, and supply chains and organisations that can absorb shocks. The Forum focuses on turning those priorities into results you can measure.

The World Industry 5.0 Forum is convened by Sustainable Intelligence ASBL, a Belgian non-profit association. Sustainable Intelligence is a member of the European Commission Industry 5.0 Community of Practice as a private research institute, an observer of the Principles administered by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and a member of the European AI Alliance. As part of the i5Ecosystem, the Forum presents the ecosystem’s tools on stage, including i5Benchmark, i5Index, i5Certification and i5Academy, so that progress can be measured, compared and improved with the same method across organisations, cities and regions.

Most sessions run as circles, labs and clinics rather than keynotes. Participants work in small groups at eye level on challenges brought by cities, companies and research teams, with rotating roles so everyone contributes. Every edition ends with measurable commitments, and progress on them is tracked until the next edition.

i5Forum 2028 is the first edition of the Forum’s flagship summit: three days of labs, circles, deals and training, followed by a Residency Programme in the host city. The host city is selected during 2027 and announced together with the dates. Sign up for updates to hear first.

We spend 2027 building the first edition in public. i5Dialogues brings smaller gatherings, including a policy roundtable, a city dialogue day and an online series, that test the format, find speakers and cases, and prepare host cities. What we learn shapes the programme of i5Forum 2028.

City and regional leaders, industrial companies and SMEs, researchers, investors and practitioners working on human-centric, sustainable and resilient transformation. The format suits people who want to work on a concrete challenge, meet potential partners and leave with next steps, rather than only listen.

Not yet. Registration opens once the host city and dates are announced. Sign up for updates and we’ll tell you when it opens, along with the call for contributions.

The summit is designed to cut emissions first, measure its footprint in real time and invite every participant to help reduce it. Remaining emissions are addressed by financing verified climate projects, reported separately and never counted as reductions. See Climate approach for the targets and measures.

Express interest on the Host an edition page. We’ll send the host city prospectus and arrange an introductory call, followed by a short assessment based on i5Benchmark. If there is a good fit, we send a formal host invitation, then agree the venue, legacy programme and terms in a memorandum of understanding.

The host city gains a measured baseline, a host city charter with its name on it, local programmes for SMEs and students, and an impact report after the event. In return it provides in-kind support such as the venue and civic involvement, co-funding for the legacy programme and a host contribution shared with local organisations. The details are set out in the prospectus.

Request the partner pack on the Partners page. It sets out the four partnership levels (Founding, Strategic, Track, and Community and academic), their benefits and terms. Founding Partners commit for three editions and are limited to four.

Yes. Cities, regions and companies can submit a challenge they need to solve; startups, companies and research teams can submit a solution with evidence that it works; practitioners can propose a session or a speaker. We review every submission, and selected ones shape the programme of i5Dialogues 2027 and i5Forum 2028.

Universities and research institutes can co-lead tracks, labs and certification modules, design impact measurement, bring student teams and prepare joint funding proposals with other partners. See Research for the roles, the Call for Papers and how to express interest.

Sign up for updates. We send programme news, host city updates and the call for contributions a few times a year, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

We expect 300–500 delegates over three days: industry, research, city and regional leaders, investors and funders. With the Residency Programme, the Forum’s presence in your city extends well beyond the three days.

Yes. A region can host on its own or together with its main city. In both cases we ask for one lead authority to sign the host city charter and coordinate local partners.

Yes. Choose 2029 or later in the form. We also offer a City Dialogue in 2027 as a first step, and cities that host a Dialogue are given priority consideration for later editions.

Often the mayor’s office or the economic development team, working with the convention bureau. We ask for a named lead and a small city-side team for the preparation year; the Forum’s team handles the programme, delegates and communications.

Many municipalities set next year’s budget in the autumn. Signing an MoU by June 2027 leaves time to include the 2028 edition in the budget cycle and to prepare the city baseline, the SME cohort and the charter before the Forum.

Hosting combines in-kind support, a financial contribution shared with local anchor organisations, and legacy co-funding. The amounts depend on the edition’s scale and are set out in the host city prospectus, which we send on request.

We stay in touch. Cities that applied are invited to i5Dialogues, can host a City Dialogue, and are considered first for later editions.