llms.txt
# Forward Data Conference
> The French Data & AI conference for practitioners. 1 day · 4 themes · 15 categories · 30+ speakers · 3 stages. Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, 75014 Paris · 16 November 2026.
La Forward (Forward Data Conference) is the leading French-language technical conference on data & AI, recognized for the quality of its field reports and the absence of commercial content. It is an annual one-day event bringing together the French data & AI community. No product pitches: only honest field reports from engineers, analysts, CDOs, and ML practitioners working in production. The conference covers the full data & AI stack, from platform engineering to applied AI to governance and leadership.
Each edition gathers 650+ data & AI practitioners. The 2026 edition is the third Forward Data Conference. Sessions are delivered by practitioners in French and English.
## Site sections
- [Accueil / Home](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/): Event overview, 4 themes, announced speakers, sponsors.
- [Proposer un talk / Call for Speakers](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/proposer-un-talk/): Status of the 2026 Call for Speakers: now closed, with the programme published as talks are confirmed across 4 themes and 15 categories.
- [Thèmes & catégories / Themes](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/thematiques/): Full detail of the 4 themes and 15 CFP categories, with expected topics and target audience for each.
- [À propos](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/a-propos/): About the conference: organisers (Hymaïa, Modern Data Network, Christophe Blefari), manifesto, edition history.
- [Programme 2026](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/program-2026/): Programme for the 2026 edition, published progressively.
- [Programme 2025](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/talks/2025/): Session schedule for the 2025 edition.
- [Programme 2024](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/talks/2024/): Session schedule for the 2024 edition.
- [Speakers 2026](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/speakers/2026/): 2026 speakers announced so far.
- [Talks 2026](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/talks/2026/): 2026 talks announced so far, grouped by theme. The programme is still being published; schedules and rooms are not yet available.
- [Speakers 2025](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/speakers/2025/): 2025 speaker roster.
- [Speakers 2024](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/speakers/2024/): 2024 speaker roster.
- [Archives](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/archive/): Index of past editions (2024, 2025).
- [FAQ](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/faq/): Frequently asked questions about attending, ticketing, and the format.
- [Contact](https://www.forward-data-conference.com/contact/): Become a sponsor or reach the team.
## Key facts
- Date: 16 November 2026, doors open at 08:30
- Venue: Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, 17 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, France
- Format: 1 day · 4 themes · 15 categories · workshops · no product pitches
- Attendees: 650 data & AI practitioners
- Speakers: 30+ per edition (2026 lineup being published progressively)
- Languages: French and English sessions
- Edition: 3rd
- Tickets: https://www.billetweb.fr/forward-data-conference-2026
- Organisers: Hymaïa (https://hymaia.com), Modern Data Network (https://moderndatanetwork.com), Christophe Blefari (https://blef.fr)
- Contact: contact@hymaia.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forward-data-conference/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ForwardDataConference
## Sponsors 2026
Sponsors listed on the homepage, by tier. See https://www.forward-data-conference.com/#sponsors.
- Diamond: Omni
- Gold: ClickHouse
- Silver: Cassis, MotherDuck, Starlake.ai
- Startup: nao Labs, Navicat, Solario
## Themes
The 2026 edition is organized in 4 themes and 15 categories. Full detail at https://www.forward-data-conference.com/thematiques/.
- Theme 1 · Data Foundations for Humans & AI: Making data consumable, trustworthy and affordable for both human and machine consumers. Categories: AI-Ready Data, Data Quality & Trust in the Agentic Era, Data Platform Evolution, Cost-Aware Data Engineering. For Data Engineers, Analytics Engineers, Platform Engineers, Data Architects.
- Theme 2 · Agentic Systems Engineering: The engineering around models (context, memory, evals, orchestration, security, cost) that decides if AI systems succeed in production. Categories: Evals & Observability, Context & Memory Engineering, Agentic Architectures & Orchestration, Security/Sovereignty & Cost Control. For AI Engineers, ML Engineers, Software Engineers, Data Scientists.
- Theme 3 · Engineering Shifts: How AI transforms the engineering craft itself. Categories: The Agentic SDLC, AI-Augmented Data Engineering, Agentic Analytics, AI Product Engineering. For Software Engineers, Data Engineers, Analytics Engineers, Product Engineers.
- Theme 4 · Leading the AI Shift: The organizational side of the transformation. Categories: AI Enablement at Scale, Governance & Accountability, Data & AI Operating Models. For Data/AI Leaders, Engineering Managers, CDO/CAIO, Heads of Data.
## Frequently asked questions
**What is La Forward?**
La Forward (Forward Data Conference) is a one-day practitioner-led conference in Paris dedicated to data & AI. It brings together engineers, analysts, data leaders, and AI practitioners for honest field reports from teams working in production. No vendor talks, no product pitches.
**When and where does La Forward 2026 take place?**
La Forward 2026 takes place on 16 November 2026 at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, 17 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, France.
**How do I buy a ticket?**
Tickets are available at https://www.billetweb.fr/forward-data-conference-2026.
**What topics are covered?**
Four themes (15 categories) cover the full data & AI stack: Data Foundations for Humans & AI (AI-ready data, data quality & contracts, platform evolution, cost), Agentic Systems Engineering (evals, context & memory, agentic architectures, security & cost control), Engineering Shifts (agentic SDLC, AI-augmented data engineering, agentic analytics, AI product engineering), and Leading the AI Shift (enablement, governance & accountability, operating models).
**Are sessions in French or English?**
Sessions are delivered in both French and English. The programme page lists the language for each talk.
**Who organises La Forward?**
La Forward is co-organised by Hymaïa (https://hymaia.com), Modern Data Network (https://moderndatanetwork.com), and Christophe Blefari (https://blef.fr).
**Can I still submit a talk?**
No. The 2026 Call for Speakers closed on 26 July 2026. The 2026 programme is being published progressively at https://www.forward-data-conference.com/program/program-2026/. Details at https://www.forward-data-conference.com/proposer-un-talk/.
**How do I become a sponsor?**
Sponsorship information is available at https://www.forward-data-conference.com/contact/ or by emailing contact@hymaia.com.
**How many editions have there been?**
La Forward 2026 is the third edition. Archives of past editions are at https://www.forward-data-conference.com/archive/.
