Call for communities

Bring your local community to the global stage in 2023

We don’t simply call for speakers – we call for communities, and they get to pick their own speaker. Because only you, a local UX community will know who to invite to represent your specific local flavour of UX.

2023 - the futures of UX

In 2023, the 24 Hours of UX event needs your help to answer a ‘simple’ question: what does the future have in store for UX? We are not looking for exact predictions, nor wild guesses – rather informed arguments. The future is shaped by drivers that emerged yesterday, actions we can take today, and concepts that we specify tomorrow. Shine a light on the darkness of the future to spark conversations!

Who can apply?

UX communities, UX event organizers, meetup groups, universities, educational organizations, training programs, and representatives of the media. Of course you can bring guests and experts along!

Are you an individual who would like to present? Contact your local UX community and apply together!

When to apply?

Registrations open on January 18th and registrations close on March 20th 2023.

Why apply?

Contemplating our profession’s future will surely do you no harm. But in addition, you get to dig deep into and lead the discussion around one aspect of the future. Not to mention we will bring your name to the 1000s of UXers in our audience.

What topics to apply with?

Apply with anything that you believe is shaping or will shape the world of user experience design, research, architecture, management, etc. in the coming 1-24 years. You may already work on projects that foreshadow the future, and which we can learn from today. Or you may bring theories, discussion starters, or a workshop about what the future holds.

Consider these categories:

An expert prediction on what, how, for who, and with what will UXers work on in the future? Bring experts or research and share your views!

A project you work(ed) on. You may already have used brand new solutions, techniques or tools that others only read about. Share your experience and tips!

A mini workshop: Instead of having answers, do you just have the questions? Facilitate a futures-oriented interactive workshop to gather input.

A roundtable discussion: Bringing multiple experts from various fields together for a dialogue can be insightful and dynamic. Different opinions spark more ideas!

template or framework

A framework to prepare for the future: Maybe you have given so much though to future practices that you even codified it in a template? Share it with the world!

anything else

Or (almost) anything else: As long as your topic is futures-oriented, we won’t hold you back! Apply with your unique spin on the topic of UX futures.

Get inspired

Is thinking about the future tough? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! We’ve collected resources to help you look back at the past, inspire you with a topic and get the most out of your work.

Futures... what? A primer on Futures Thinking Looking for a framework to think about the future? Watch this 2 minute video to get you up-to-speed.
Drivers Drivers of UX’s futures Community partners and the 24 Hours of UX team have compiled a list of drivers of UX’s futures – it’s not complete, but a good start.
Look back Look back to look forward: The best way to explore the future is to look at the past. We complied a look-back at the past 48 years of the UX profession
major trends Today’s major trends according to others: Look outside of the UX field. See what other organizations are thinking about the future, and the trends that drive it today.

An ideal application

Do you want to ensure that your talk gets picked by the selection committee? It’s as easy as following these 3 simple hints:

1. Be smart about your topic

Artificial Intelligence is a good topic, but not the only determinant of the future. Pick a topic that may play a vital role in shaping UX’s future, but which other speakers might not think of.

Make your topic specific. “How will AI influence UX” may be too broad – narrow it down to a specific use case or example. Explore details and go deep instead of only scratching the surface.

2. Use a compelling structure

A perfectly structured talk about the future would involve the following:

  1. Ground the future you present in drivers we already see today
  2. Tell a short story about a specific scenario describing life in this future
  3. Bring an expert or experts – not necessarily UX professionals
  4. Describe actions we can start doing today to prepare for achieving or avoiding this future

3. Involve the audience

Presentations about the future are never predictions – they are starting points for discussion. Whether you just add a simple survey, or use your entire talk as a workshop, involving the audience can be a nice extra to get selected – and be remembered.

Wonderful teams we have worked with

Knock AI
Sustainable UX Network
UX Beijing
UX Antwerp
UX Talk Tokyo
The World of Experience
UX Thailand
IxDA Indianapolis
UXPA Dallas
The Black UX Society
UX Copenhagen
CPHUX
Iterate UX
She Can Do
UX Wellington
Athens UX Community
Las Vegas UX/UI
UXD
UX Geneva
User Experience Budapest
The District
Asian CHI
UX Ghana
UXNZ
MIT AgeLab
UX Philippines
IDF Malaysia
Más Mujeres UX Argentina
Dairah
UX Brisbane
The Clinical UX Association
IxDA Hong Kong
Architecta
TorCHI
UX Graz
Dalat
myHCI-UX
UXPA International
UXPA Los Angeles
NoVA UX
SDD India
Savvy UX Summit
UX Research Lab
xOps Today
Uxibility
Design Leadership Therapy
Design Spectrum
Tsinghua University
Arabic UX Community
ixDA Perth
UXPA Cleveland
UX Research and Strategy
UX Akron
Singapore University of Technology and Design
Void Casablanca
World Information Architecture Day
UX Auckland
Ladies that UX Utrecht
UX Kitchen
UX Malaysia
Trace Research & Development Center
World Usability Day
SEACHI
Humans in Service Design
Calgary UX
Low Ego Action Heroes
Service Design Network, New York Chapter
Colearnla
UX Salzburg
Savannah College of Art & Design
Agile Jordan
OhioX
Más Mujeres UX Chile

Who we are

So who’s behind this initiative? People like you – practitioners –  who in their spare time have been running their own communities, organizing live events in their respective cities, while live events were still possible. We cover 6 continents, and most of us have only ever met online.

Sonia Bedrosian profile
Jesse Anton
Donna Spencer
Dan Sorvik
Keith Instone
Portrait of Chee Seng Leong
Peter Horvath
Johannes Lehner
Ahmad Alhuwwari