Mice Insights

“We turn our screens OFF to turn our connections ON”

By Viviane Vaz

MICE INSIGHTS (16 January 2026)

Take a deep breath. Stretch. Look up. This isn’t a yoga session. It’s a wake-up call for the events industry. As the conversation around events becomes increasingly dominated by apps, platforms, and AI promises, a quieter but more powerful shift is taking shape.

The events that matter in 2026 will put humans first: real conversations, slow moments to think, and spaces that make ourselves actually will to show up.

Tech runs in the background, but the spotlight is on connection, curiosity, and the tiny sparks that make people feel alive again. Let’s be honest: people are (still) exhausted from screen time. Guests want to attend and take part of events where they can have a nice chat, laugh, eat and drink, try something new. Or even something old, that we have long forgotten.

💡Thought provoked by a question raised by Natalia Sizova and Alexander Hunger within the SCIB Trophy Community Chat*, I began reflecting on how events that truly matter will be shaping up in 2026.

🇨🇭 *The SCIB Trophy Community Chat, hosted on WhatsApp, brings together MICE professionals who have taken part in the Switzerland Meeting Trophy —an annual “Amazing Race”-style familiarization trip organized by the Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB) since 2008. I am part of this community, having participated as a Belgian delegate in the 2019 edition of the Trophy.

So, this is my take for MICE INSIGHTS:

🧠 Human > Digital

AI won’t be the headline. It will be a tool, part of the infrastructure, but not the main character in the most desired events. What will dominate:

• Real conversations with less or without screens
• Curated introductions done by people, not algorithms
• Slower pacing: fewer sessions, more space to think

We turn our screens OFF to turn our connections ON!

🪑 Presence > Scale

After years of hybrid formats and post-Covid fatigue, physical presence has regained its value. Being there matters.

The most relevant events are becoming smaller by design, prioritising intention over volume and engagement over reach. Rooms are laid out for eye contact rather than stages, encouraging participation instead of passive consumption.

These are events you can’t multitask through with no second screens and no half attention, though. Scarcity becomes part of the appeal, with limited access reinforcing the sense that what happens in the room is meant only for those who chose to be there.

In a nutshell:

• Fewer attendees, more intention
• Rooms designed for eye contact, not stages
• Events you can’t multitask through

Scarcity continues to be a value:

• Invite-only

If you miss it, you miss it!

🌱 Sustainability > AI

After all, AI may be trendy, but it comes at a real cost: enormous water use and other hidden environmental impacts.

In 2026, the events that truly matter will focus on doing less tech for show and more for impact. Sustainability will no longer be a badge to display; it will show up in thoughtful, tangible choices:

• Choosing local venues
• Partnering with fewer, better-aligned sponsors

The same principle applies to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and purpose: it’s what you do, not what you say, that creates trust and lasting impact.

🗣 Events = Conversations + Connection

In a world optimised for speed and output, these moments of reflection and authenticity become the real value of coming together.

So, the most desired events will provide:

• Safety to speak honestly
• Space to reconnect with why people do their work at all

The unspoken reason people attend events in 2026:

“I need to feel human again…“

✨ The real 2026 trend

Not more innovation. Not more data. Not more optimisation.

More meaning. More trust. More humanity.

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People on the beach. Photo by Nino Souza Nino