Timeline and Schedule

High-level overview

Here's how OFU 2025 will unfold:

November 3–16: Pre-conference activities, incl. office hours
November 17: Opening workshops
November 18 and 19: Preparatory sessions
November 20: Unconference (Open Space)
November 21: Closing workshops

Lanes Overview

Throughout OFU 2025, our sessions align with five core lanes that guide exploration and innovation. These lanes represent the key dimensions of facilitation in the age of AI. Of course, you can still bring any topics related to facilitation in virtual environments in general.

Lane 1: AI-Enhanced Facilitation & Collaboration – How can we use AI in the room as we guide group processes?
Lane 2: Human-AI Collaboration for Professional Practice – How can we augment our internal workflows to supercharge our capacity?
Lane 3: Navigating Cultural Shifts & Human Impact – What is shifting in the human experience in this new era?
Lane 4: Social Impact & Regenerative Futures – How can we help shape a better future in the Intelligent Age?
Lane 5: Edge Explorations & Emergent Frontiers – What are the questions we aren't asking and conversations we aren't having?

Time zones

There will be three daily blocks during which most of our activities take place:

0:00–02:00am UTC (London)
8:00–10:00am UTC (London)
4:00–6:00pm UTC (London)

Detailed schedule

November 17

Opening Workshops - We kick off the emergence process with three opening workshops to align with different global time zones. Each session uses a World Café, a simple yet powerful method for weaving together collective intelligence across many small, rotating group conversations. This is how we collaboratively shape the core agenda and identify the energy points for the week. Network at collaborative tables or via AI-matched interests in the Remo virtual venue, which simulates a dynamic, table-based physical room layout. We immediately dive into the system-level questions that drive the week.

November 18

Preparatory Sessions - Experts from across the world host preparatory sessions including interactive talks and participatory workshops designed to stimulate discussion, reflection, and knowledge sharing on how our roles and context are shifting in the emerging future. This isn't just content consumption; it's a catalyst for the co-creation to come. We run parallel workshops across three daily slots to accommodate global time zones, focusing on the core lanes.

Americas/APAC

0:00–02:00am UTC (London)

8:00–10:00am Beijing

4:00–6:00pm Los Angeles (Nov 17)

We will start in Remo (register) with 25 minutes of “mix & mingle” networking. Sessions start at 0:30am UTC.

AI/IA Intervening Authentically: Our Role in Facilitating Humanity Now

Jeffer London, Michelle Zhang, Ralph Van Crombrugge

Lane 3: Navigating Cultural Shifts & Human Impact - What is shifting in the human experience in this new era?

Facilitators are needed to support groups dealing with AI disruption. This session is about our role in the human conundrum of AI-led organisations. We’ll lean into what is uniquely human (that AI is less good at) - “EPOCH” qualities: Empathy, Presence, Opinions, Creativity, Hope – to explore uncomfortable questions we all face. What’s at risk in the race for performance? Future of human relationships? Seeing our AI bias? Thriving in an AI future? Role of EPOCH facilitators? Zoom Meeting ID: 835 1938 2941 Passcode: 017604

Use Your Illusion: Hallucinations & The Future of Online Workshop Facilitation

Dennis Draeger

Lane 1: AI-Enhanced Facilitation & Collaboration - How can we use AI in the room as we guide group processes?

AI hallucinations are a key feature for diverse future thinking, not a bug. This session presents the theory from “Automating Liminality in Foresight Practice.” After exploring the history of automation, you'll learn a powerful three-step process—critical, liminal, and creative thinking—to transform inaccurate AI output into innovative insights. The session culminates in a practical workshop on the future of online workshop facilitation, using collaboration tools to find and enhance AI-generated scenarios, demonstrating AI as an augmentation for human creativity. Remo

Silicon Based Intelligence Vs Carbon Based Wisdom

Juan Antonio Saenz, Pedro Ramirez

Lane 2: Human-AI Collaboration for Professional Practice - How can we augment our internal workflows to supercharge our capacity?

Join us for an exploration of the most critical question of our time: not Human versus AI, but Human with AI. This workshop will examine how we can harness artificial intelligence to enhance rather than erode human agency. Drawing on insights from Yuval Noah Harari and others, we'll discuss why the real danger isn't AI rebellion, but humans losing faith in their own power. Discover how to navigate this fascinating threshold in history — ensuring that technology empowers us to see more clearly, decide more wisely, and create more boldly while keeping the steering wheel firmly in human hands. Zoom

EMEA/APAC

08:00–10:00am UTC (London)

4:00–6:00pm Beijing

0:00–2:00am Los Angeles

We will start in Remo (register) with 25 minutes of “mix & mingle” networking. Sessions start at 0:30am UTC.

AI and Facilitation: What the Data Tells Us (and How We're Building on It)

Deborah Rim Moiso

Lane 2: Human-AI Collaboration for Professional Practice - How can we augment our internal workflows to supercharge our capacity?

What do we know about how facilitators around the world are actually using AI in their workflows? We'll look into data from SessionLab's 2025 and (before it's even out!) 2026 State of Facilitation reports and reflect together on what these trends mean for facilitators and learning designers. What AI tools are facilitators using? What part of the workflow are they most useful for (spoiler: design work, so we'll look into that a bit deeper)? What use cases are popular? Expect some presentations and some time to reflect, alone and in breakout rooms. Zoom

Facilitating the Human Work of AI - Supporting people, culture, and strategy through the AI transition

Mike Clargo

Lane 3: Navigating Cultural Shifts & Human Impact - What is shifting in the human experience in this new era?

AI is changing everything — but it’s people who must adapt. This session invites facilitators to step into a vital emerging role: helping individuals and organisations make sense of AI’s impact, reshape roles, and build confidence in co-creating with new technologies. Grounded in the Personal AI Revolution framework, we’ll explore how to support culture, strategy, and personal growth through practical facilitation. Whether or not you’re a tech expert, your ability to hold space, guide transitions, and enable new mindsets has never been more needed. Zoom

The Race to Survive

Gwyn Jones

Lane 4: Social Impact & Regenerative Futures - How can we help shape a better future in the Intelligent Age?

The urgency to find a way forward that ensures survival of the species is increasing daily. How can we respond? Is it time to slow down and listen? This session is an opportunity to step back from the daily busy-ness and contemplate the global context and our options for the future. An opportunity to step back from the daily busy-ness and contemplate the global context and our options for the future. Zoom Meeting ID: 898 7355 2181 Passcode: 956898

Americas/EMEA

4:00–6:00pm UTC (London)

0:00–2:00am Beijing (Nov 19)

8:00–10:00am Los Angeles

We will start in Remo (register) with 25 minutes of “mix & mingle” networking. Sessions start at 0:30am UTC.

Awakening in Transition: Practicing Presence in a Transforming World

Lalith Gunaratne

Lane 3: Navigating Cultural Shifts & Human Impact - What is shifting in the human experience in this new era?

We explore how mindfulness, reflection, and daily inner practice can help us stay grounded amid profound change. Through guided contemplation and dialogue, we’ll inquire into our relationship with self, others, and the living world - recognizing our interconnection with nature and the cosmos. Participants will reflect on how to meet uncertainty with compassion, realism, and humility, embracing impermanence and our shared human fallibility. Together, may practice being fully present - not driven by fear, but awakened to a life of harmony, awareness, and loving engagement with the world in transition. Remo

The Growth and Value of Internal Facilitation

Kathrina Loeffler, Executive Director - International Association of Facilitators

Lane 5: Edge Explorations & Emergent Frontiers - What are the questions we aren't asking and conversations we aren't having?

This interactive session invites participants to explore the unique value of internal facilitation, the systemic factors that support its growth, and the tensions it presents within traditional facilitation norms. Through collaborative reflection and breakout discussions, participants will gain deeper insight into this emerging profession and leave with practical strategies to support and elevate internal facilitators as equal partners in advancing facilitation practices that foster meaningful engagement. Zoom

Addressing Bias in AI

John Kenyon

Lane 4: Social Impact & Regenerative Futures - How can we help shape a better future in the Intelligent Age?

In the age of AI and large language models (LLMs), addressing bias is not just a technological challenge—it’s a social imperative. This workshop will empower facilitators to recognize and mitigate bias in AI-generated content, equipping them with practical tools and ethical frameworks. We’ll explore real-world examples, engage in hands-on activities, and discuss how to implement AI tools responsibly, ensuring that technology serves equity, not deepens disparities. Zoom Meeting ID: 889 7778 8501 Passcode: 010194

November 19

Day two of our preparatory sessions continues with more expert-led workshops and interactive talks. We run parallel workshops across three daily slots to accommodate global time zones, focusing on the core lanes that drive meaningful exploration of facilitation in the age of AI.