1
Oct 2026
Networking Days 2026
1-2 October 2026 / Seville, Spain

About ND 2026

Welcome to ELIA Networking Days 2026, ELIA’s flagship event for leaders, decision-makers and innovators in the language services industry. Taking place in Seville, ND26 brings the ELIA community together to think clearly, exchange openly and explore what it takes to lead through change.

Built around ELIA’s highly interactive “un-conference” format, Networking Days combines keynote insight, peer discussion and meaningful connection. Through small-group sessions and realistic business scenarios, participants will challenge assumptions, share experience and leave with sharper thinking for the road ahead.

PROGRAMME

Strategy Under Pressure
Escape old thinking. Solve change.

ND26 focuses on strategic change at a time of real pressure for language service companies. AI, shifting client expectations, changing demand and tighter markets are forcing LSPs to rethink what they offer, how they grow and where they create value. Inspired by Escape Rooms, this year’s programme turns business challenges into shared puzzles to solve. Across the event, participants will look for clues, test assumptions, unlock new perspectives and work together to find routes forward.

The programme includes four interactive roundtable sessions in small groups of 6–10 people. Each session is built around a realistic LSP challenge, giving participants space to explore different options, compare approaches and learn directly from peers facing similar decisions. The aim is not to provide one-size-fits-all answers, but to help each participant leave with clearer priorities, useful frameworks and ideas they can take back to their own organisation.

  • 30 Sep
  • 1 Oct
  • 2 Oct
  • Pre-Conference Day
18:00 – 20:00  
Welcome Drinks
The First Clue

Venue Lobby
Meet your fellow escapees before the challenge begins.

  • Conference Day 1
09:00 – 09:30  
Registration & Welcome Coffee
Collect Your Escape Tools

Fuel up, pick up your badge, and prepare for the mission.

09:30 – 09:45  
Introduction to Strategy Under Pressure
Escape Old Thinking. Solve Change.

Event Opening and new ELIA Board Introduction.

09:45 – 10:30  
Keynote Session
The Master Key

When you open the door to see what clients will buy next and how LSPs must adapt. Show more...

The master key opens any door. The harder question is whether your client is even in the room you think they are. This keynote is from inside the room where buying decisions actually get made, and most of what's said there never reaches the people pitching.

Julio Leal photo
Julio Leal
Rover.com
Head of Localisation
10:30 – 10:45  
Q&A

10:45 – 11:15  
Coffee Break
Strategic Time-Out

11:15 – 12:30  
Escape Room 1
Escape from Business-as-Usual

When AI changes what clients buy.

What happens when the market Show more...shifts faster than your business model? In this session, you'll explore how LSPs can respond when long-standing assumptions about client needs, value, and purchasing decisions no longer hold true. Working through a realistic change scenario, you'll develop practical strategies for repositioning your company, strengthening client relationships, and identifying new ways to create value in an AI-driven market.

You'll leave with: a framework for assessing client-driven change, key questions to ask when circumstances shift, and a practical action plan for responding with confidence rather than reacting under pressure.

12:30 – 14:00  
Lunch
Fuel Your Escape

14:00 – 15:15  
Escape Room 2
Escape from a Saturated Market

When you need to find growth beyond familiar territory.

Growth Show more...is easy to talk about and much harder to achieve. This session challenges participants to think strategically about expansion by examining where opportunity really comes from and how businesses can build on their existing strengths. Together, you'll evaluate different growth paths, identify common pitfalls, and explore how to make smart decisions about markets, positioning, partnerships, and investment.

You'll leave with: a practical growth evaluation toolkit, a clearer understanding of your competitive advantages, and a structured approach to identifying your next opportunity.

15:15 – 15:45  
Coffee Break
Crack the Code Break

15:45 – 17:00  
Networking Session
Assemble your Tunnel Crew

Meet potential collaborators, partners and problem-solvers. Put together your Great Escape Network.

19:30 – 23:30  
Networking Dinner
The Getaway Banquet

An evening for connections, conversations, and plotting the next move.

  • Conference Day 2
09:00 – 09:30  
Morning Coffee
Back on the Case

Gather your thoughts and prepare for the next challenge.

09:30 – 09:45  
ELIA Update
Accomplice on the Outside

Hear how ELIA provides outside assistance.

09:45 – 10:45  
Panel Discussion
Hire Getaway-Drivers

Learn how consultants help LSPs succeed in business transformation.

10:45 – 11:15  
Coffee Break
Refuel & Recalculate

11:15 – 12:30  
Escape Room 3
Escape from Dropping Demand

When it’s time to rebuild your offering for the new era.

As Show more...client expectations evolve and traditional revenue streams come under pressure, many LSPs face the challenge of reinventing what they offer and how they deliver it. In this session, you'll think beyond incremental improvements and explore how to develop new capabilities, solutions, and business models that align with changing market needs. The focus is not just on ideas, but on what it actually takes to turn those ideas into reality.

You'll leave with: a practical roadmap for developing new offerings, insight into the people, technology, and partnerships required to support change, and a clearer view of how innovation can be implemented in practice.

12:30 – 14:00  
Lunch
Fuel for the Final Push

14:00 – 15:15  
Escape Room 4
Escape from your Own Painted Corner

When you need strategic peer coaching for real business dilemmas. Show more...

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to change isn’t the market, the competition, or technology. It’s the assumptions, habits and constraints we’ve built around ourselves.
In this session, participants are invited to share a real business challenge they feel stuck in and work through it with the collective experience of their peers. Using the consultant-style thinking, frameworks and lessons developed throughout the event, groups will challenge existing assumptions, uncover blind spots and identify practical ways forward.

You’ll leave with: fresh perspectives, practical peer input and clearer next steps for tackling a real business dilemma.

15:15 – 15:45  
Coffee Break
Clues Over Coffee

15:45 – 16:30  
Closing Session
On the Way Out

What you’re taking back with you—and what comes next.

18:00 – 20:00  
City Treasure Hunt
The Escape Map-Seville

Step into Seville for a city treasure hunt that puts teamwork into action. Show more... Work with your group to solve clues, navigate hidden corners of the city, and test how you communicate, decide and collaborate under pressure. It’s a team-building challenge, a chance to connect, and your final mission before ND26 comes to a close. We will depart from the venue at 17:30.

SPEAKER

Julio Leal - Keynote
Rover.com
Head of Localisation
Julio Leal - Keynote

Who should attend?

If you’re involved in running a language service company of any size or you are in the upper management with a degree of decision making freedom, ND is organised with you in mind:

Benefits of the programme

For you

  • Benchmark your skills in multiple aspects of your role
  • Approach the future confidently, armed with the latest insights
  • Build your network and share perspectives among like-minded colleagues
  • Be inspired by your peers’ individual and company success stories

For your company

  • Identify actionable growth strategies for the present and future
  • Discover how new developments and ideas could transform your products and processes
  • Expand your network of partners and collaborators
  • Find smarter ways to work that unlock your team’s potential

COMMITTEE

Anu Carnegie-Brown
Sandberg
Event Chair
Anu Carnegie-Brown
Tony D’Angelo
CMT Translations
Programme Committee
Tony D’Angelo
Klaus Fleischmann
Kaleidoscope
Programme Committee
Klaus Fleischmann

REGISTER

Cancellation Policy

All requests for cancellation and refunds must be received in writing; this also applies to registration substitutions. Please contact us via email.

To view the full cancellation policy and for more information about ELIA’s Event Terms & Conditions, please click here.

Venue

Meliá Lebreros hotel is an urban oasis in the heart of Seville, and offers sophisticated accommodation with all the traditions of the wonders of the Andalusian capital. With elegant rooms and excellent facilities, this 4-star hotel welcomes you with all the warmth that characterises people from the south.

The hotel offers special rates for ELIA’s attendees by 13/09/2026. We recommend that you book your room as early as possible, to secure availability. The rates below are per room, per night and include breakfast and 10% tax.

To book your room, please use the booking link.

€181 – Single use / €201 – Double use

Copyright Meliá Lebreros hotel
Meliá Lebreros hotel
Luis Morales, 2 Seville
Tel: +34 954 57 94 00 recepcion.melia.lebreros@melia.com Visit Website

Social Events

Don’t miss our networking events at ND 2026, where you can mix & mingle with fellow attendees, in inimitable ELIA style. Sign up during registration to secure your spot!

Copyright Meliá Lebreros hotel

Welcome Drinks

Wednesday, 30 September / 18:00-20:00
Meliá Lebreros
– Venue

ELIA will offer unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks during the first hour of the reception. Any drinks ordered after this time will be at attendees’ own expense. See you there!

Copyright Muelle 21

Networking Dinner

Thursday, 1 October / 19:30-23:30
Muelle 21

Join us for a relaxed seated dinner to continue
the conversations, and enjoy time together in Seville. The cost of the dinner is €75 per person (attendees & guests). Bus transfers to/from the restaurant are included.

City Treasure Hunt

Friday, 2 October / 18:00-20:00

Solve clues, explore the city, and put
teamwork into action in a fun, fast-paced
treasure hunt. The cost of the activity is €30
per person (attendees & guests). Public transport tickets from the venue to the activity starting point are not included.

SPONSORS

PARTNERS

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For additional information contact us by email