What opportunities are there to speak?

We're glad you asked! In 2026, we're several major in-person events–in Melbourne in June, the first Australian edition of (AI Engineer) and ai × design. In Sydney in August UX Australia and the return of Design Research. Then in Sydney in November there's the 20th anniversary of Web Directions, the conference that started it all.

AI Engineer

ai × design

UX Australia

In 2026 we're once again teaming up with UX Australia to bring you the return of the long their running flagship conference. Covering UX, product and service design, and the surrounding disciplines of research, content, operations, management, and more.

Design Research

The long-running UX Australia conference Design Research also returns in 2026.

Learn more about what we're looking for and propose your talk here.

Web Directions

2026 is the 20th anniversary of Web Directions, and so we're planning something special for November in Sydney. We'll cover front-end development, design, and more. So get your proposals in for this very special event.

Put in your talk proposal in the form below.

How do I get to speak at a Web Directions Conference?

This is a little long winded and in depth, but understanding what we look for will really help you propose a topic that's likely to work for our programs. A look at past conference programs will likely help you get a sense of what we look for too.

Our philosophy

At Web Directions we have a strong editorial style we've developed over 20 years of putting together conferences. The type of sessions that prove popular, and so which we program, tend to have a number of characteristics:

• They're often about "unknown unknowns"–introducing or explaining to the audience concepts, practices or technologies they may not be aware of, or maybe only vaguely aware of, that would be useful to them in their work, today, or in the near future.
• They're focussed–don't think breadth, think focus and depth.
• They're 'explainers'–they succinctly help the audience understand what something is, what it's for, and how they can get value from it.
• They're forward looking (but not far future). It's right there in our name "directions"–we want to help our audience chart where they are going, but we don't want to lead them down dead ends, or show them things that might only one day become useful. Each year we tend to get a lot of similar proposals for something that's the topic everyone is talking about right now–and would have been the ideal proposal last year or the year before.

One of the things we love hearing from our audience is "I can't wait to get back to work and put this into practice". If you can aim for that, for the event's target audience, you'll go a long way to getting a place in the schedule.

Here's a few more tips what we recommend to give yourself the best chance of getting a place at our conferences.

• Talks are typically of no more than 30 minutes duration.
• If we see proposals we really like, we start pencilling them in before the closing date. So it pays to not wait until last minute.
• We're also happy for multiple proposals from the same person.
• Past presentations give a good indication of the sort of thing we're looking for as well.
• Focus is good! Rather than proposing for example "what's new in Javascript" think about a deep dive on one aspect of what's new in JavaScript (for example "Crunchy or smooth? All about JavaScript's Spread Operator"). What's something you think is indispensable but not as many people know about and use as you think should? There's a great topic right there!

OK, I'm keen! Where do I propose?

You'll find the forms for proposing a talk at each of the conference's call for presentations pages. Follow the links above to find the appropriate form.

What Do Speakers Get?

We provide travel and accomodation for speakers at our in-person conferences, plus speaker dinners, receptions and an all round great experience for speakers.

And it doesn't stop with the conference, we host your presentation on our streaming platform Conffab, where speakers are compensated for the engagement their presentations generate! And speakers get a lifetime Conffab subscription as well.

Good luck, we can't wait to hear your proposals!

Questions?

Happy to discuss your proposal and thoughts–just email us info@webdirections.org.

Ready? Head over to our CFP form and submit away–for multiple proposals just submit multiple times.!

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Code of Conduct

For over a decade, we've worked hard to create inclusive, fun, inspring and safe events for the Web Industry.

As part of our commitment to these values, we've adopted a code of conduct for all involved: ourselves, our speakers, our partners and our audience.