Press Release
BMDS takes over patronage of Smart Country Convention 2026
• Federal Digital Minister Dr Karsten Wildberger speaks at #SCCON26
• Exhibition space continues to grow
• Smart Country Convention: 13–15 October 2026 in Berlin
The Smart Country Convention is expanding this year, with the Federal Ministry of Digital and Public Service (BMDS) taking on patronage for the second time. The hub27 at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds is already fully booked eight months before the event. The area of Hall 26, which was only added in 2025, is expanding once again.
Dr Karsten Wildberger, Federal Digital Minister: "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."
Dr Ralf Wintergerst, President of Bitkom: ‘With its renewed support for the Smart Country Convention, the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs is demonstrating its desire to accelerate the modernisation of administrations, cities, municipalities and authorities. This will benefit citizens and the economy alike.’
Dr Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin: ‘The enormous demand for exhibition space shows how relevant the Smart Country Convention is for all players involved in digitalisation, and the renewed patronage of the BMDS is also a great confirmation of the importance of SCCON as a central meeting place for politics, administration and business.’
From 13 to 15 October 2026, the Smart Country Convention in Berlin is expected to welcome more than 23,000 participants, 500 partners and over 800 speakers. These include leading representatives from politics, business, administration and research. This year's event will focus on the topics of resilience, artificial intelligence, smart infrastructures and administrative digitisation.
Further information on the Smart Country Convention: https://www.smartcountry.berlin/en
About Smart Country Convention
The Smart Country Convention is the leading event for the digital state and public services. With over 23,000 participants, SCCON is the meeting place for everyone involved in the digitalisation of the public sector. The combination of congress, workshops, expo and networking is aimed at employees from administration, politics, the digital economy, associations and science. SCCON is organised by Bitkom e.V. and Messe Berlin.
You can also find this press release on the Internet: www.smartcountry.berlin
Press photos of the Smart Country Convention in printable quality can be downloaded here. Videos about the event and the topics of the Smart Country Convention can be found here.