Work Culture Festival 2026: Values as a Compass: What an Economy That Takes the Future Seriously Looks Like, Photo: © Linda Schäffler
Oct 27 15:00 Hall 6, Board Stage Radical Impact

Values as a Compass: What an Economy That Takes the Future Seriously Looks Like

What if we are much closer to one another than the heated debates would have us believe? Transformation expert and SPIEGEL bestselling author Maja Göpel explores a persistent obstacle to successful change: most people want to cooperate – they just don’t trust others to do the same. With clarity and insight, she highlights the conditions needed to overcome this.

Why do we cling to growth figures that no longer reflect what really matters? Why do we keep calling for either more or less government instead of intelligently redesigning bureaucracy? And how can those who honestly account for the costs of the status quo finally become competitive?

A talk about how courageous change can succeed in times of crisis – by working together rather than against one another.

Following the session, Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel will be signing selected books and looks forward to meeting attendees in person.

Photo: © Linda Schäffler

Presentation language: German

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Four days. Lots of highlights. And that’s just the start.

The programme is constantly expanding with new talks, panel discussions, workshops and interactive spaces.

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de / en
Tuesday Oct 27 Wednesday Oct 28 Thursday Oct 29 Friday Oct 30
Hall 6
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00

Board Stage

Future Perspectives: Welcome to the Work Culture Festival 2026
Co-Founder of Leading Minds & New Work Pioneer EVP Content Strategy at Material Bank
What AI Can’t Take Off Our Hands: Why Leadership Is Becoming About Relationships in the Age of AI
Professor of Communication Management Host, Director Brand & Communications of DMEXCO
The Return of Proximity: Why Innovation Still Needs Place
Director MIT Senseable City Lab & Founder of Carlo Ratti Associati
The Social Office: Rethinking Time, Productivity and Connection at Work
Founder & CEO WORKATHON
Home Field Advantage: Designing Workplaces that Bring People Together
Co-Founder & Principal of Studio O+A Senior Vice President Workplaces at adidas
Architonic Design Minds at Work: Patrik Schumacher
Principal at ZHA Architects
Values as a Compass: What an Economy That Takes the Future Seriously Looks Like
Professor at Leuphana University, Co-Founder of Scientists4Future & Founder of Mission Wertvoll
Level Certification for Sustainable Office Furniture in the US and in Europe: US Market, Common Goals, Individual Approaches, Long-Term Perspectives
Sustainability Expert & Head of European Level Director of Health and Sustainability at BIFMA

Next Stage

Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To
Senior Expert at Drees & Sommer Head of Business Innovation macom and Senior Experte at Drees & Sommer Lead for Workplace Strategy at SAP Co-founder and Managing Partner of migosens GmbH
The Future of Knowledge Work: How Haufe Is Shaping Change
CEO Business Group Haufe
Returning to the Office, but How? How Workspace Design Can Determine the Success of Return-to-Office Strategies
HR Researcher
Built Different: How People, Space and Tech Are Reinventing the Bildungscampus in Heilbronn
Managing Director of macom and Associate Partner at Drees & Sommer Team Lead Vision & Strategy at Schwarz Campus Service Member of the Management Board at Schwarz Campus Service Senior Expert at Drees & Sommer
Sustainable Furniture Put to the Test: Industry Experience and a Look at Future Requirements
Global Head of Technical Expertise in Furniture at TÜV Rheinland
The Office as a Control Center: From Administration to Decision-Making. What Can We Learn from the Control Center?
Trend expert and futurologist Senior Director Digital Operations Optimization at Lufthansa
Spaces of Possibility: Creating Places Where Culture Becomes Visible
Architect at Ippolito Fleitz Group

Academy

"Passport, Please!" — What Your Furniture Needs to Travel the World, and Why AI Is Already on Board
Global Head of Technical Expertise in Furniture at TÜV Rheinland Global Head of AI at TÜV Rheinland Manager Market Access Services at TÜV Rheinland LGA Products Global Competence Expert & Certifier Emissions at TÜV Rheinland Products GmbH
Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To (Workshop)
Head of Business Innovation macom and Senior Experte at Drees & Sommer Senior Expert at Drees & Sommer
Learning Organisation – Is the Dream Over or Has It Never Been Easier?
Editor-in-Chief, “neues lernen” & Editor, “personalmagazin” Editor, “personalmagazin” & “neues lernen” Professor of Business Administration, Work, Human Resources & Organisation at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Management Consultant, Trainer & Coach at HR Pioneers Head of Organisational Development at BIB Fair Banking
Workspace Intelligence: How Can Data Drive Concrete Decisions? (Workshop)
Head of Business Innovation macom and Senior Experte at Drees & Sommer Senior Consultant at Drees & Sommer
Re:Space Reimagining existing spaces – refurbishing digitally
Managing Director at intensor GmbH Founder & CEO of EasternGraphics GmbH

Specials

Guided Themed Tour for HR (personalmagazin)
Guided Themed Tour for HR (personalmagazin)
Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel
Professor of Communication Management
Designing Learning Spaces and Learning Formats: What Really Works? (Live Podcast)
Editor-in-Chief, “neues lernen” & Editor, “personalmagazin” Editor, “personalmagazin” & “neues lernen”
Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel
Professor at Leuphana University, Co-Founder of Scientists4Future & Founder of Mission Wertvoll
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00

Wolfram Sauer, Robert Thiemann

Future Perspectives: Welcome to the Work Culture Festival 2026

Prof Dr Miriam Meckel

What AI Can’t Take Off Our Hands: Why Leadership Is Becoming About Relationships in the Age of AI

Carlo Ratti

The Return of Proximity: Why Innovation Still Needs Place

Julia Hobsbawm

The Social Office: Rethinking Time, Productivity and Connection at Work

Primo Orpilla & Christian Dzieia

Home Field Advantage: Designing Workplaces that Bring People Together

Patrik Schumacher

Architonic Design Minds at Work: Patrik Schumacher

Prof Dr Maja Göpel

Values as a Compass: What an Economy That Takes the Future Seriously Looks Like

Steve Kooy & Volker Weßels

Level Certification for Sustainable Office Furniture in the US and in Europe: US Market, Common Goals, Individual Approaches, Long-Term Perspectives

Julia Schmid, Christian Schweizer, Paiman Minavi & Malte Kopmann

Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To

Iris Bode

The Future of Knowledge Work: How Haufe Is Shaping Change

Dr Katharina Radermacher

Returning to the Office, but How? How Workspace Design Can Determine the Success of Return-to-Office Strategies

Oliver Mack, Carmen Herbig, Florian Ufer & Robert Rathke

Built Different: How People, Space and Tech Are Reinventing the Bildungscampus in Heilbronn

Kai-Uwe Schlegel, Jan Jäck

Sustainable Furniture Put to the Test: Industry Experience and a Look at Future Requirements

Birgit Gebhardt & Christian Most

The Office as a Control Center: From Administration to Decision-Making. What Can We Learn from the Control Center?

Peter Ippolito

Spaces of Possibility: Creating Places Where Culture Becomes Visible

Kai-Uwe Schlegel, Alina Selbach, Corinna Reget & Dr. Jelena Galinkina

"Passport, Please!" — What Your Furniture Needs to Travel the World, and Why AI Is Already on Board

Christian Schweizer & Malte Kopmann

Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To (Workshop)

Kristina Enderle da Silva, Julia Senner, Tillmann Seidel, Daniel Dubbel, Prof Stefan Süß

Learning Organisation – Is the Dream Over or Has It Never Been Easier?

Christian Schweizer & Artur Wiederkehr

Workspace Intelligence: How Can Data Drive Concrete Decisions? (Workshop)

Valentin Angst & Frank Wicht

Re:Space Reimagining existing spaces – refurbishing digitally

Guided themed tour

Guided Themed Tour for HR (personalmagazin)

Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel

Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel

Julia Senner, Kristina Enderle da Silva & Thomas Tillmann

Designing Learning Spaces and Learning Formats: What Really Works? (Live Podcast)

Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel

Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel

Guided Themed Tour for HR (personalmagazin)

Guided themed tour

Oct 27 10:45

Future Perspectives: Welcome to the Work Culture Festival 2026

Wolfram Sauer, Robert Thiemann

Oct 27 11:00

What AI Can’t Take Off Our Hands: Why Leadership Is Becoming About Relationships in the Age of AI

Prof Dr Miriam Meckel

Work Culture Festival 2026: What AI Can’t Take Off Our Hands: Why Leadership Is Becoming About Relationships in the Age of AI, Photo: © Henning Ross
Oct 27 11:15

"Passport, Please!" — What Your Furniture Needs to Travel the World, and Why AI Is Already on Board

Kai-Uwe Schlegel, Alina Selbach, Corinna Reget & Dr. Jelena Galinkina

Work Culture Festival 2026 - TÜV Rheinland, Photo: © TÜV Rheinland
Oct 27 11:15

Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To

Julia Schmid, Christian Schweizer, Paiman Minavi & Malte Kopmann

Work Culture Festival 2026: Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To, Foto: © Drees & Sommer / Julia Schmid / Paiman Minavi
Oct 27 11:30

The Return of Proximity: Why Innovation Still Needs Place

Carlo Ratti

Work Culture Festival 2026: Human After All: Designing Workplaces in the Age of AI, Photo: © Mattias Nutt
Oct 27 12:00

Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel

Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel

Work Culture Festival 2026: Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel, Photo: © Henning Ross
Oct 27 12:00

The Future of Knowledge Work: How Haufe Is Shaping Change

Iris Bode

Work Culture Festival 2026: The Future of Knowledge Work: How Haufe Is Shaping Change, Foto: © Iris Bode
Oct 27 12:15

Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To (Workshop)

Christian Schweizer & Malte Kopmann

Work Culture Festival 2026: Imagine Office: Workplaces Worth Commuting To (Workshop), Photo: © Drees & Sommer
Oct 27 12:30

The Social Office: Rethinking Time, Productivity and Connection at Work

Julia Hobsbawm

Julia Hobsbawm, speaker at the Wherever Whenever – Work Culture Festival 2026. Photo: © Henrietta Photography
Oct 27 12:45

Returning to the Office, but How? How Workspace Design Can Determine the Success of Return-to-Office Strategies

Dr Katharina Radermacher

Work Culture Festival 2026: Rückkehr ins Büro – aber wie? Wie Workspace Design über den Erfolg von Return-to-Office-Strategien entscheiden kann, Foto: © Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Soest
Oct 27 13:00

Home Field Advantage: Designing Workplaces that Bring People Together

Primo Orpilla & Christian Dzieia

Work Culture Festival 2026: Home Field Advantage: Designing Workplaces that Bring People Together, Photo: © Christian Dzieia / Primo Orpilla
Oct 27 13:30

Learning Organisation – Is the Dream Over or Has It Never Been Easier?

Kristina Enderle da Silva, Julia Senner, Tillmann Seidel, Daniel Dubbel, Prof Stefan Süß

Work Culture Festival 2026: Learning Organisation – Is the Dream Over or Has It Never Been Easier?, Foto: © Haufe
Oct 27 13:45

Built Different: How People, Space and Tech Are Reinventing the Bildungscampus in Heilbronn

Oliver Mack, Carmen Herbig, Florian Ufer & Robert Rathke

Work Culture Festival 2026: Built Different: How People, Space and Tech Are Reinventing the Bildungscampus in Heilbronn, Photo: © Drees & Sommer
Oct 27 13:45

Architonic Design Minds at Work: Patrik Schumacher

Patrik Schumacher

Work Culture Festival 2026: Work Culture & Leadership: Architonic talks series, Photo: © Patrik Schumacher
Oct 27 14:15

Sustainable Furniture Put to the Test: Industry Experience and a Look at Future Requirements

Kai-Uwe Schlegel, Jan Jäck

Oct 27 14:30

Values as a Compass: What an Economy That Takes the Future Seriously Looks Like

Prof Dr Maja Göpel

Work Culture Festival 2026: Values as a Compass: What an Economy That Takes the Future Seriously Looks Like, Photo: © Linda Schäffler
Oct 27 15:00

Workspace Intelligence: How Can Data Drive Concrete Decisions? (Workshop)

Christian Schweizer & Artur Wiederkehr

Work Culture Festival 2026: Workspace Intelligence: How Can Data Drive Concrete Decisions? (Workshop), Photo: © Drees & Sommer
Oct 27 15:00

The Office as a Control Center: From Administration to Decision-Making. What Can We Learn from the Control Center?

Birgit Gebhardt & Christian Most

Work Culture Festival: CONTROL – The Office as a Control Center, Photo: © Birgit Gebhardt
Oct 27 15:15

Designing Learning Spaces and Learning Formats: What Really Works? (Live Podcast)

Julia Senner, Kristina Enderle da Silva & Thomas Tillmann

Work Culture Festival 2026: Designing Learning Spaces and Learning Formats, Photo: © ChatGPT
Oct 27 15:15

Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel

Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel

Work Culture Festival 2026: Book Signing with Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel, Photo: © Linda Schäffler
Oct 27 15:45

Level Certification for Sustainable Office Furniture in the US and in Europe: US Market, Common Goals, Individual Approaches, Long-Term Perspectives

Steve Kooy & Volker Weßels

Work Culture Festival 2026: Level certification for sustainable office furniture in the US and in Europe: US market, common goals, individual approaches, long-term perspectives, Photos: © Steve Kooy, Carsten Lerp
Oct 27 15:45

Spaces of Possibility: Creating Places Where Culture Becomes Visible

Peter Ippolito

Work Culture Festival 2026: Spaces of Possibility, Photo: © Peter Ippolito
Oct 27 16:00

Re:Space Reimagining existing spaces – refurbishing digitally

Valentin Angst & Frank Wicht

Work Culture Festival 2026: Re:Space, Foto: © Valentin Angst / Frank Wicht
Oct 27 16:15
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