8ra Annual Summit 2026: General Assembly and Open Conference
8ra Annual Summit 2026: General Assembly and Open Conference
Event Overview
The 8ra Annual Summit 2026 will take place on 19-20 March 2026 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The summit combines the IPCEI-CIS General Assembly with the 8ra Open Conference, providing a platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strategic planning within Europe's cloud infrastructure ecosystem. CISERO contributes to the organisation of this summit and facilitating a dedicated session throughout the two-day event.
Day 1: IPCEI-CIS General Assembly – 19 March 2026
The first day is reserved for the IPCEI-CIS General Assembly and operates on an invitation-only basis. Representatives from all IPCEI-CIS partners, European Commission officials, and participating Member States will convene to discuss developments, governance matters, and upcoming milestones within the IPCEI-CIS framework. Attendance is expected from all IPCEI-CIS partners, with a limit of three representatives per organisation.
During the General Assembly, elections will be held for new Facilitation Group Co-Chairs in accordance with governance protocols. Each organisation is entitled to one vote, and the designated voting representative must be identified during registration. The day concludes with a networking dinner in the evening, providing opportunities for participants to strengthen collaborations across the IPCEI community.
CISERO Session: IPCEI-CIS Roadmap Insights
At 15:15 on 19 March, CISERO will present a dedicated session on the CISERO Roadmap for IPCEI-CIS. This 45-minute parallel session, organised by IDC, targets representatives of IPCEI-CIS projects, workstream and cross-workstream leads, and policy stakeholders within the 8ra initiative.
CISERO complements existing EU roadmaps by providing market-oriented insights necessary to accelerate real-world adoption of sovereign European cloud-edge capabilities. The roadmap focuses on market intelligence aligned with IPCEI-CIS priorities, translating Europe's cloud-edge vision into deployable outcomes. The session will share mid-term roadmap insights from demand-side market analysis, covering building blocks such as open-source, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, and AI/GenAI to highlight market evolution and trends shaping IPCEI-CIS exploitation and go-to-market strategies.
The session includes a presentation of CISERO's mid-term roadmap findings, followed by an interactive part to collect and prioritise key challenges and barriers to market uptake of IPCEI-CIS solutions. Participants will engage in discussion to address these challenges and identify pathways forward.
Day 2: 8ra Open Conference – 20 March 2026
The second day opens the summit to a broader audience, welcoming IPCEI-CIS partners, cloud providers, users, and stakeholders from across Europe. The 8ra Open Conference explores the role of the 8ra Initiative in building a multi-provider cloud-edge continuum and strengthening European cloud autonomy. Through plenary sessions, project pitches, demonstrations, and interactive workshops, participants will gain insights into ongoing developments and opportunities for engagement with the 8ra initiative.
IPCEI-CIS partners will present project results, participate in panel discussions, and explore synergies with other European funding programmes and initiatives. High-level representatives from the private and public sectors will address the need for strengthening European competitiveness in cloud infrastructure. Breakout sessions will be led by experts from EU cloud companies, policymakers from various Member States, and European Commission representatives.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to explore IPCEI-CIS project developments, learn about pathways for engagement with the 8ra initiative, understand exploitation support provided by CISERO, engage with policymakers on future directions for the EU, and network to build connections within the European cloud community. The day concludes with networking drinks in the afternoon.
CISERO Session: Open Source in the 8ra Initiative
On 20 March from 13:55–14:35 & 14:50–15:30, CISERO will host a session titled "Open Source in the 8ra Initiative." This session explores how Open-Source Software drives innovation in cloud infrastructure and digital services, examining how the 8ra initiative leverages open source as an enabler to boost competitiveness, ensure interoperability, and strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty.
The session combines presentations with an interactive panel discussion featuring stakeholders from the 8ra community who will share real-world experiences, best practices, and solution pathways for overcoming challenges in adopting open cloud-edge infrastructure at scale. Building on insights from the recent CISERO webinar on open-source cloud infrastructure, the session will address innovation, interoperability, governance, strategic roadmaps, and EU digital sovereignty.
Participants will gain insights into how open-source software is embedded in cloud infrastructure development across IPCEI-CIS, learn about strategic open-source priorities and roadmap elements supported by CISERO, and hear concrete examples from IPCEI-CIS projects contributing to open-source cloud infrastructure. The panel will address governance and sustainability of open-source assets, balancing openness with security and compliance, the role of public procurement in fostering adoption, and lessons learned from early implementations under IPCEI-CIS.
The session is designed for cloud service providers, platform operators, technology leaders, architects exploring open-source stacks, business strategists evaluating deployment models aligned with European policies, open-source developers and integrators, and policymakers seeking to understand how open-source software supports Europe's ambition to build a competitive and sovereign multi-provider cloud-edge continuum.
CISERO Booth
CISERO will maintain a dedicated booth throughout the 8ra Open Conference on 20 March. Conference participants can visit the CISERO booth to learn about the project's support activities, access information on exploitation strategies, discuss collaboration opportunities through the CISERO Collaboration Platform, and connect with the CISERO team. The booth will serve as a point of contact for IPCEI-CIS partners and external stakeholders seeking to engage with CISERO's services and initiatives.
Registration and Attendance
Registration is required for all participants. Attendance at the summit is free of charge. The registration deadline is Monday, 26 January 2026. Attendance at the General Assembly on 19 March is limited to three people per IPCEI-CIS partner, with only one designated voting representative per organisation.
Registration and validation occur in rounds with the following deadlines: early registration closes on 18 December with validation on 5 January; final registration for both days closes on 26 January with validation on 30 January; registration for Day 1 only closes on 27 January; registration for Day 2 only after 26 January receives validation on 23 February; and registration for Day 2 only after 23 February receives weekly validation until the event date.
Participants can register through the online registration form available on the event website.
Venue
The summit takes place at De Doelen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The venue is located opposite Rotterdam Central Station, providing direct access to major cities throughout the Netherlands. Hotels and restaurants are within walking distance of the venue.
The venue's central location ensures accessibility by public transport, with direct train connections from Amsterdam Central Station and Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam Central Station. High-speed trains from Paris and Brussels also connect directly to Rotterdam Central Station. The atmospheric foyers, featuring distinctive chandeliers, provide spaces for networking and are directly connected to plenary rooms with views of the city.
Parking is available at nearby garages, including Schouwburgplein 1 and 2, where reduced-rate tickets can be purchased at De Doelen. Detailed accessibility information is available on the De Doelen website.
Programme Highlights
The two-day summit offers engagement and networking opportunities within the European cloud community. Programme highlights include keynotes from policymakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders; interactive showcases of ongoing projects, results, and opportunities for involvement; project pitches, demonstrations, and digital showcases; workshops and panel discussions; and networking events including a dinner on 19 March and drinks on 20 March.
The full programme schedule is available on the event website.