Conference News: TechLive Moves to Napa; GDC’s new Game & CFP

Don’t Wine About It: WSJ Tech Live aims to set the global tech agenda for the year, bringing together CEOs, founders, investors and luminaries from around the world for provocative on-stage interviews and lively conversations. This year they are moving this flagship conference from its Laguna Beach digs to be closer to “the tech capital of the world, Silicon Valley.” The 2025 conference will take place in Napa Valley from 4 – 6 November and will focus on a few big ideas, which WSJ has shared on their site: AI: Competition and the Race for Global Domination; A New Era of Engagement: Tech’s Influence on Entertainment; and The Next Big Bets in the Tech Industry.

GDC Hits Restart: Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the game industry’s premier professional event, championing game developers and the advancement of their craft. They have announced that the 2026 edition will be “reimagined with a focus on interactivity, engagement, and meaningful connections between speakers and attendees.” The conference will feature a new structure and formats that better reflect the entire gaming ecosystem – “from ideation and pitching through launch, monetization, and long-term player engagement.” GDC will return to San Francisco from 9-13 March 2026. And as noted in their call for submissions form, “2026 brings everyone – developers, publishers, investors, educators, marketers, executives, and more – into the same conversation.”

Submission Opportunity: As mentioned above, GDC is shifting from “a purely technical, classroom-style conference into something more dynamic, more connected, and more reflective of how the industry really works.” As part of this change, they will have only one call for submissions this year (previously they had a separate process and deadline for summits & game career seminars). What hasn’t changed? They still have plenty of session formats and topics to choose from; They still value diversity of voice, experience, and perspective. They still offer detailed submission guidelines (which you should absolutely review in advance!) And, most importantly, they still require speaker and session ideas to be submitted online before their deadline! (This year it is 7 August at 11:59pm PT).

Lunchtime Learning: Elevate Festival will again spotlight Canadian innovation when it returns to Toronto in October. As one of Canada’s most influential tech and innovation events, it attracts 10,000 attendees who are tech leaders, startups, investors, policymakers, and media. To get ready for this year’s confab, check out some of last year’s sessions. Hear Jeremy Shaki, CEO, Lighthouse Labs on The Death of the Entry-Level Job Teresa Resch, President, WNBA Toronto and Jayna Hefford, Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations, PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) on The Rise of Women’s Sports;  Mark Surman, President, Mozilla Foundation on Building the Future: Public Labs and the New Era of Open Source AI  and Licenia Rojas, Chief Engineer & Architect, TD Bank Group on Powering People and Products with an Innovative Engineering Strategy.

Coming Up Next Week: Aspen Ideas: Climate heads to Chicago from 20-22 July, where “the world’s most ambitious climate problem solvers from across the U.S. and beyond” will gather to combat climate change and adapt to a changing planet. Digital Hollywood Summer Summit is held as an online event from 21-23 July, featuring senior leaders and thought leader panelists at the intersection of Hollywood and tech. On 24 July, Women Impact Tech West Accelerate Conference runs its virtual program, geared toward helping women working in engineering and tech up-level their careers and share the latest technical developments. ChannelCon (29-31 July; Nashville) offers its attendees a “vendor-neutral environment” to connect and learn new best practices in the IT channel. And on 31 July, DGI holds its 13^th edition of the 930gov Annual Convention at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC, designed to bring together leaders, innovators, and practitioners from across the public and private sectors.