Labor Festival

A national gathering in the heart of the EUR

For nearly twenty years, the Labor Festival has been Italy's primary forum for public debate on the labor market. Promoted by the National Council of the Order of Labor Consultants and the Study Foundation, it changes cities every year: in 2026, it chose Rome, in the Province of Rome and the Lazio Region, and specifically the EUR district, where the La Nuvola Congress Center, designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, hosted the seventeenth edition from May 21st to 23rd.

The format is that of a true civil festival: not a conference closed to insiders, but three days open to everyone with free admission, where technical analysis from professionals intertwines with the voices of businesses, unions, academia, and young people entering the job market.

The theme: "The New Challenges of Work"

The 2026 edition focused on three strategic pillars, chosen to capture a transitional phase affecting every productive sector:

• Expanded and generative welfare, placing the individual at the center rather than just the performance;
• Safety and quality of employment, a theme that permeated the entire program and was highlighted in the closing event dedicated to legality and safety;
• The impact of artificial intelligence on the production system and labor rights, covering automation, new digital skills, and the need to rethink protections.

The President of the National Council, Rosario De Luca, summarized the Festival's core question: what policies and tools are needed to build "a new social pact centered on the person" in an era of such rapid digital, ecological, and demographic transformations.

How the program is organized

Sessions are distributed across eleven thematic rooms that structure the three days: from the Auditorium dedicated to governance and change to the Law Room, from the Health and Safety Forum to areas focused on career guidance, active labor policies, and the Youth Space. Alongside the rooms, the Labor Square features stands from organizations and interprofessional funds, demonstrations of the SIISL platform, and recruitment and selection services.

The Festival's audience is diverse: labor consultants and accountants seeking professional credits, entrepreneurs, HR managers, public officials, as well as high school and university students from Rome participating in career guidance workshops and mock interviews.

More than just conferences

Over the years, the Festival has developed a lighter, more popular dimension, which was clearly visible in Rome. On May 21st, Marco Montemagno offered an accessible take on changes related to innovation and artificial intelligence; on May 22nd, Enrico Bertolino brought his ironic reflections on the relationship between work and the future to the stage. Also on May 22nd, the Run4Job charity race took place at the EUR Tre Fontane Stadium, with the participation of Paralympic athlete Oney Tapia. The closing on May 23rd featured the preview of the film Il Quaderno di Tommaso, starring Carolina Crescentini and Antonio Gerardi.

Rome and the Festival

Choosing the EUR was no coincidence: the district is the capital's business hub, well-connected to the historic center by the subway and surrounded by green spaces, a lake, and sports facilities. For those arriving from out of town, the Labor Festival is also an opportunity to combine three days of professional development with a visit to the city, from the Colosseum to the Vatican Museums, with the convenience of a congress hub served by hotels and restaurants.

A traveling festival

The Labor Festival changes its venue every year to reach different territories: in 2025 it was hosted in Genoa at the Magazzini del Cotone, while previous editions had visited Bologna, Florence, and Turin, among others. This traveling nature is part of its identity: bringing the national debate on work into local production systems, listening to their specificities and challenges.