Future: Forward Conference 2026
11-13 May 2026
Campbelltown Catholic Club, NSW
Flourish 2026 was CEnet's education conference, the third in a series that began with Future:Forward 2024 and 2025. This year the conference grew into a full three-day program across three interconnected themes: AI & Learning, Cyber Safety, and Education Insights.
The theme, Technology in Service of the Human Spirit, reflects the conviction at the heart of Catholic education: that every decision about technology should be tested against its capacity to help young people, teachers, and communities flourish. Flourish 2026 was not a technology conference that mentioned education. It was an education conference that took technology seriously.
CEnet's flagship platform cechat ran as a thread throughout the conference, grounding the program in practice rather than theory.
Who Attended
• Classroom teachers ready to deepen their AI practice
• School leaders making decisions about AI governance and adoption
• Diocesan directors, system leaders, and diocesan staff shaping the AI agenda
• IT professionals from systemic Catholic education offices and independent schools
• eLearning coordinators, digital learning leaders, and technology integration staff
• Curriculum and pedagogy specialists
• Those wanting to understand what responsible AI looks like in a Catholic school
One conference. One audience. One purpose.
Agenda
Day 1: 11 May 2026 ’Ground’
Day 1 established the values, context, and intellectual ground for everything that follows. Delegates heard from world-class researchers and practitioners, engaged with live provocation exercises, rotated through dedicated Cyber Safety and Education Insights sessions, and finished the day with a conversation about what technology means for families, students, and the Catholic mission.
Day 2: 12 May 2026 ’Action’
Day 2 was where the ideas of Day 1 meet classroom reality. A live keynote and demonstration opened the day, followed by the Mini-Symposium — teachers from across Australia's Catholic schools sharing the AI agents and tools they have built and tested with real students. The afternoon moved into ethical debates, and a live synthesis from the AI in Education Podcast.
Day 3: 13 May 2026 ’Integration’
Day 3 was a half-day designed for the delegates who are ready to go further. It ran as two parallel streams before converging for a joint close.
With thanks to our sponsors!
A sincere thanks to our incredible event partners and sponsors. It was entirely through their generous support that we were able to offer registration for Future: Forward 2026: Flourish completely free of charge to CEnet network members and the extended Catholic diocesan and independent education community.
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
EXHIBITORS
