The Smart Country Convention is starting the 2026 trade fair year with strong momentum: eight months before the event begins, hub27 is already fully booked. Hall 25 is also recording an exceptionally high number of bookings, which is why the exhibition space in Hall 26 is being expanded. This marks the fourth consecutive year of growth for SCCON – a clear signal of the continuing high relevance of the leading platform for the digitalisation of the public sector.

From 13 to 15 October 2026, the Smart Country Convention will once again bring together politics, administration, business and science in Berlin. Around 500 partners from Germany and abroad and over 800 speakers are expected to attend.

Political signal: BMDS confirms patronage

SCCON is also sending a strong signal at the federal level: the Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation (BMDS) is once again taking on patronage of the Smart Country Convention. Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger will also be represented at the event with a keynote speech.

With the BMDS, Germany now has its own ministry for digitalisation and state modernisation for the first time. The ministry's goal is to provide administrative services in a fully digital, faster and more citizen-friendly manner – from digital citizen accounts to the ‘once-only’ principle.

Karsten Wildberger emphasises: "The Smart Country Convention is the central meeting place for everyone who wants to make our country noticeably more digital and innovative. Artificial intelligence in particular will be an important accelerator on the path to simple, fast and user-friendly administration. I look forward to presenting our projects and ideas, learning from other best practices and exchanging ideas with innovative minds."

Central platform for modernising the state

Dr Ralf Wintergerst, President of Bitkom, sees the renewed patronage as a clear signal: ‘With its renewed support for the Smart Country Convention, the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs is showing that it wants to speed up the modernisation of administrations, cities, municipalities and authorities. This will benefit citizens and the economy alike.’

Dr Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin, also emphasises the growing importance of SCCON: ‘The enormous demand for exhibition space shows how relevant the Smart Country Convention is for all players involved in digitalisation. The renewed patronage of the BMDS is a great confirmation of the importance of SCCON as a central meeting place for politics, administration and business.’

Shaping digitalisation in concrete terms

In terms of content, SCCON reflects the BMDS's key areas of action:

• Digital government: Efficient, fully digital administrative services based on a shared infrastructure (‘Deutschland Stack’), digital identities and AI-supported processes.
• State modernisation: Reducing bureaucracy, practical legislation and consistent implementation of the once-only principle.
• Digital economy: Promoting innovation through clear rules for AI, data economy and open data.
• Digital sovereignty: Strengthening key European technologies and reducing technological dependencies.
• Digital infrastructure: Accelerated fibre optic and 5G expansion as a basis for growth and participation.
• International digital policy: Active participation in shaping European and global digital rules.

The Smart Country Convention will once again be the place where strategies, technologies and best practices for the digital transformation of the public sector come together – practical, solution-oriented and with political backing at the highest level.