12TH EDITION · HYBRID EVENT

SKILLMAN INTERNATIONAL
FORUM - SIF 2026

25–26 November 2026 Thessaloniki, Greece · Hybrid event

WHO DECIDES WHAT MATTERS?

Who decides which skills matter, and whose learning is recognised?

Join us in Thessaloniki, Greece on 25–26 November 2026 for the Skillman International Forum - SIF 2026, to explore who shapes learning, how skills are valued, and what these decisions mean for our future.

Learning increasingly takes place across classrooms, workplaces and digital environments. Algorithms influence what we encounter and what captures our attention, often through criteria we cannot see. How can we recognise what matters and retain control over our own learning and development?

SIF 2026 brings together educational practice, research, businesses and institutions to explore purposeful learning pathways and concrete approaches to skills development, assessment and recognition. Together, we will examine the purposes and responsibilities guiding artificial intelligence in learning, and how skills can translate into employment, opportunity and social participation.

Through dialogue with Cedefop and the Forum’s guests, we will turn these questions into shared research challenges and opportunities for collaboration — working towards more transparent and participatory decisions about learning, skills and the society we want to build.

PARTICIPANT PORTAL

SIF 2026 OFFICIAL MANIFESTO · THESSALONIKI

The Skillman International Forum 2026 focuses on a transformation affecting us all: learning increasingly takes place in digital environments alongside formal education, shaped by algorithms whose criteria remain invisible.

Challenge 01

Digital & Algorithmic Learning

Continuous, fragmented learning experiences emerge, shaped by recommendation systems whose criteria remain invisible to users.

→ Audit Algorithmic Criteria

Challenge 02

Algorithmic Visibility

When engagement drives visibility, viral content overshadows what is genuinely useful. We must dismantle compulsive attention traps.

→ Decouple Profit from Value

Challenge 03

Informed Choices & Agency

Empowering individuals to recognise what truly matters, make deliberate choices, and retain sovereignty over their own development.

→ Foster Cognitive Discernment

Challenge 04

Defining & Valuing Skills

Examining who defines what counts as a 'good citizen' and ensuring transparent, participatory decisions across society.

→ Democratic Skills Governance

Skillman International Forum 2026 · Thessaloniki (25–26 November 2026)

Turning manifesto questions into shared research challenges and participatory policies for the society we want to build

Hosted at

CEDEFOP

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

SIF 2026 - The High-Level Stakeholder Programme in Thessaloniki

Panels, Pitches, Roundtables (25th and 26th)

and an international Social Dinner (25th Nov) with High Level Stakeholders

Bringing together policymakers, educators, researchers, business representatives and civil society organisations to explore the decisions shaping learning and skills

SIF 2026 System Architecture | Interactive Model

The Sovereign Learning Ecosystem

A visual synthesis of how informal algorithmic feeds, commercial attention traps, and democratic skills governance intersect.

Section 5 Core Enquiry

The Power Quadrants of Skills Recognition

Asking who counts as a "good" citizen means examining the values and criteria through which society recognises people’s contributions, and who has the power to establish them.

1. Recommendation Algorithms & Tech Platforms Profit & compulsive retention metrics

2. Public Education & Democratic Institutions Civic values, equity & transparency

3. Enterprise & Labour Market Practical workplace application

4. Autonomous Citizens & Learners Self-determination & deep vocations

Thessaloniki Re-alignment Target

Restoring power from opaque algorithms back to democratic dialogue.

Skillman Worldwide Network for TVET Excellence · Hosted at Cedefop Premises

Thessaloniki 2026 Forum Manifesto

How algorithms shape what we encounter and learn

Helping people make informed choices and shape their own development

Who decides which skills matter and how they are described

Making learning visible and examining the criteria used to value it

The purposes, criteria and responsibilities guiding its use

Connecting learning with employment and meaningful participation in society

OFFICIAL TEXT & EDITORIAL ANALYSIS

The 6 Foundational Sections of the SIF 2026 Manifesto

SECTION 01 The Digital Shift

The Algorithmic Learning Shift

"The Skillman International Forum 2026 focuses on a transformation that affects us all: learning increasingly takes place in digital environments that extend alongside and across formal education. Alongside systems with explicit objectives, teachers and stated assessment criteria, continuous and fragmented learning experiences are emerging, shaped by algorithms whose underlying criteria and interests often remain invisible to their users."

Roundtable Enquiry: How do hidden algorithmic filters silently redefine what our students and workforce encounter daily?

SECTION 02 Attention vs Value

The Attention Economy vs True Knowledge

"A news item, a video or a suggestion can trigger a chain of recommendations that grows to reach millions of people. Repetition can turn a message into a mantra, shaping perceptions, behaviour and choices. When these processes primarily reward attention, profit and compulsive engagement, what becomes most visible does not necessarily coincide with what is most useful for learning or for shaping our future."

Roundtable Enquiry: Can authentic critical thinking survive within digital infrastructure monetised solely on retention and clicks?

SECTION 03 Agency & Discernment

Human Agency & Noise Filtering

"Within this flow, sensationalist, polarising or aggressive content can overshadow information and opportunities that speak to our deeper interests. The challenge therefore also concerns people’s ability to recognise what matters, make informed choices and retain control over their own learning and development."

Roundtable Enquiry: How do we equip individuals with cognitive resilience to navigate polarisation and pursue authentic vocational callings?

SECTION 04 Pathways & AI

Purposeful Pathways & Responsible AI

"SIF2026 seeks to address this challenge through concrete examples of purposeful learning pathways and carefully considered solutions grounded in human perspectives. The Forum brings together experiences and projects that connect skills development with the application, recognition and practical value of those skills, aiming to strengthen individuals’ ability to shape their own future. The discussion of artificial intelligence will also address the purposes, criteria and responsibilities that guide its use in learning."

Roundtable Enquiry: What ethical responsibilities must govern AI educational tutors to safeguard human potential?

SECTION 05 Democratic Governance

Who Decides What Matters?

"Who decides what matters? The definition, representation and measurement of skills are central to this year’s Forum. Skills need to be understood, developed, recognised and assessed: the choices we make in doing so influence access to employment, opportunities and social participation. Asking who counts as a “good” citizen means examining the values and criteria through which society recognises people’s contributions, and who has the power to establish them."

Roundtable Enquiry: Who holds the authority to decide which skills unlock livelihood, dignity, and societal inclusion in the 21st century?

SECTION 06 Thessaloniki Forum

The Thessaloniki Dialogue

"In Thessaloniki, through dialogue with Cedefop and the Forum’s guests, we aim to turn these questions into shared research challenges and opportunities for collaboration. We will bring educational practice, research, businesses and institutions into dialogue to explore how the decisions that shape learning and skills recognition can become more transparent and participatory. These decisions also shape the kind of society we want to build."

Roundtable Enquiry: How will our collective decisions in Thessaloniki shape the democratic texture of European and global society?

Through concrete examples and dialogue with Cedefop and the Forum’s guests, we will explore how these themes can lead to shared research, practical solutions and collaboration — and how decisions about learning and skills can become more transparent and participatory.

The Skillman International Forum 2026 in Thessaloniki connects skills development, innovation and cooperation for a sustainable and inclusive future. Drawing on BS4INNO, VELOCITY, TRACKS4CRAFTS, STEM4ALL-CENTRES and CIRCULAR-READY, the Forum focuses on six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals provide a shared framework for discussing how education, business innovation and international partnerships can contribute to sustainable development.

Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure (SDG 9)

Previous edition

SIF 2025 Highlights

Skillman.eu was launched in 2014 and received the European Commission support in 2015 in the field of education and training. In its specific field of intervention it is the largest EU multilateral network combining a solid knowledge of skills needs and training practices with a well organised systemic and sector-related information system.

RECENTLY JOINED

The Forum will span two intensive days, featuring presentations, pitches, roundtables, workshops, and a co-design process aimed at fostering excellence and equipping learners with digital credentials.

We are committed to creating a better society, and we invite institutions and individuals to join us in this mission.