International Directors Forum 2026: Evolving our Organizations Amidst a Rapidly Changing World
The International Directors Forum 2026 will be held in Bangkok, hosted by ASPAC and the National Science Museum Thailand on August 17 and 18, 2026.

It promises to build on the momentum from the first International Director's Forum 2024, addressing the need for directors of science centers/museums around the world, to engage with each other in a safe space, on topics that are critical to the survival and evolution of our organizations amidst many upheavals in systems around the world. Here, we will deeply learn from each other as we share ideas and experiences in formats designed for active conversations and workshops. We will aim for collective insight that could strengthen our way forward in the way we look at and run our organizations.

Topics to be discussed are the following:

1. The many facets of science museum/center ROI and how do we use them to come up with strategies for sustainability?

2. What are the nuances of the pain points of running science engagement organizations and the new ways to look at them to transform them into generative points?

3. Workshop to come up with different models of collaboration across networks?

4. Framing AI in Science Museums/Centers:

1. How do we posit the 2 crisis (climate and biodiversity) vs AI?

2. How do we engage the public on AI use?

3. How do we adopt AI and still be human-centered?

5. What does “decolonizing museums” mean for the formerly colonized and the former colonizer and how do we come up with working models to move forward?

6. What are the credentials of the new leadership amidst these rapid tech, social upheavals, including polarization?

7. Workshops to come up with new staffing patterns, new models of partnership, new funding sources etc.

The Early Bird Registration is USD 300 to June 15, 2026. After those dates, it will be USD 350. There will be partner hotels provided where you can book your accommodation at very reasonable rates. In early March we will share the full registration and logistical details and more information about the program.

This forum is the only chance we can all gather as leaders and directly engage each other, leaning on the art and science of gathering to make all the carbon footprint worth every gram we will cast for this conference. Hope to see you there.