ORF Future Forum to address Austrian public broadcasting reform

The ORF Future Forum is scheduled to take place on September 10 and 11, 2026, at the Vienna Urania. Initiated by Media Minister Andreas Babler, the event serves as the starting point for a comprehensive reform of Austria’s public broadcaster, the ORF.

Approximately 200 participants from politics, media, science, and civil society will convene to discuss the future of the broadcaster. The forum follows a three-stage participation process that included an online consultation with nearly 400 institutions, focus groups with citizens, and a youth workshop.

The discussions will be organized into five working groups focusing on: - Public mandate and programming - Youth and media literacy - Digitalization, platforms, and artificial intelligence - Structures, governance, and audience representation - Cooperation and the Austrian media landscape.

The results of the forum will be compiled into a report to serve as the basis for subsequent political negotiations regarding the ORF reform. The Humanistischer Verband Österreich has noted that humanist, atheist, and non-religious perspectives remain underrepresented in these discussions.