The Liftoff conference to position Croatia as a leading high-tech destination in the region
For several years, The Geek Gathering has been building an event that combines high-quality professional content with a relaxed atmosphere, socializing and a strong sense of community. Along with lectures and educational content, an important part of the TGG experience consists of the entertainment programme, networking and discovering Osijek and the wider region. Thus, for its visitors, the conference also becomes a kind of educational and tourist postcard of eastern Croatia – through the local scene, people, culture and new city features.
This year's TGG will take place at the Cultural Centre Osijek, whose premises over two days will become a meeting place for developers, designers, product and project experts, founders of startups and companies, entrepreneurs and all those who do not just want to follow technology, but to understand, question and create it. The programme will run in parallel across multiple halls, alongside a diverse Expo zone, a networking space as well as supporting educational and entertainment content designed to encourage interaction between visitors, speakers and partners.
Among the so far confirmed names of this year's TGG are Dries Depoorter, a Belgian artist, keynote speaker and conceptual consultant known for his work at the intersection of technology, artificial intelligence, privacy and surveillance; Andrey Sitnik, Lead Frontend Developer at Evil Martians; Lucas Rocha, Senior Software Engineer at Oracle; Alexandre Lagrange, CEO and Co-founder at AEMOTION; Mike Korba, Global Thought Leader at Positive; Domagoj Marić, AI Customer Delivery Manager at Pontis Technology; Tomislav Buljević, Senior Web Developer at Njuškalo; Božidar Pavlović, Partner at Aymo Ventures; Tomislav Nikočević, Partner at SQ Capital; Nikola Škorić, Founder and CEO of Electrocoin, and many others.
An important part of this year's programme will also be practical masterclasses intended for a smaller number of participants. Karl Horky, Technical Founder at UpLevelled, will hold a masterclass titled Full Stack Guardrails for AI Agents, while Davor Peić-Gavran, Engineering Team Lead at Danfoss, will hold a masterclass titled Scaling Frontend Architecture.
"For us, gathering is more than a name – it is the very essence of TGG. We bring together people who view technology not just as an industry, but as a space for ideas, creation and connection. Our idea of an anti-conference does not mean rejecting the conference format, but removing everything redundant and returning the focus to why people gather in the first place: quality practical knowledge, open conversations, new perspectives and real contacts. We want TGG to be a place where a lecture continues into a conversation, a conversation into a collaboration and a chance encounter perhaps into a new project. That is why this year, too, we are not just creating a programme, but a multi-day experience and a community of tech optimists, experienced professionals, new talents and curious creators who want to learn from one another and shape what comes next together," said Feđa Ivanšić, president of The Geek Gathering association.
TGG 2026 expects over 500 visitors, 30 speakers and 30 partners, but the numbers are only part of the story. The idea of the Gathering remains the same: to bring together people who have something to say, show and ask, and to create an environment in which knowledge, experience and contacts do not remain confined solely to the official programme.
Tickets for The Geek Gathering 2026 are on sale via the official conference website thegeekgathering.org, , where new names, lectures, masterclasses and other programme details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Two days. Four halls. Dozens of speakers. And one gathering of people who want to know what comes next – and be part of it.
