The programme for GeekSessionsConf2026 is locked in. On 21 March, twelve speakers will take the stage at IPDJ Faro with talks and workshops covering AI in tourism, sign language and generative AI, open source agent frameworks, the small web, sales for tech founders and full-focus productivity. But the conference is also bringing something that has never been shown in Portugal before: a VR documentary by Finnish media artist Leena Jääskeläinen.

Making Art In My Dreams is an animated VR documentary that follows three artists into their dreamworlds through sculpture, poetry and music. The piece was previously featured at the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale in Finland. One of the artists whose dreamworld is part of the experience is Dorina Owindi (Phoenix), a participant in the LOFT community here in the Algarve. The VR installation is made possible by Bruno Dores and Joana Sousa from Squared Potato, who are providing the equipment and technical support.

The speakers

Nuno António, CTO, Professor and Data Scientist at NOVA IMS, opens with a talk on analytics and AI cases in tourism. Richard Metcalfe, B2B founder sales coach, runs a workshop on how he went from tech geek to $10m salesperson. Fred Rocha speaks about expanding the small web and why it matters. Carlos Mota, Android GDE and KMP Architect, presents his work on building inclusive AI experiences using sign language and generative AI. Inês Masmoudi, PhD student at FCT/UAlg, introduces a new perspective on AI for continual learning. Miguel Coquet from Naviu and AuroraMed talks about what he calls the Headmaster Pattern, using AI as operator rather than coder. Lenz Gschwendtner from Local Foundation and 351 Portuguese Startup Association speaks about good ideas with safety in Elixir through the OpenClaw project. Daniel Cukier from Polkador and Jamixir leads a hands-on workshop on building useful agents with Gemini and Gemma, both cloud and local. Sofía Toledo from Bosch brings a workshop called Ichigyo Zanmai, focused on full concentration on a single act. Miguel Costa from Dengun offers something different altogether: wholesome tarot sessions and origami for everybody. And Flor dos Reis from LOFT Community and Pedro Cavalheiro from Faro em Ação sit down for a fireside chat on communities and human ethics in the age of AI.


The Community Map

The Community Map, the exhibition space that opened at IPDJ on 13 March with over 30 community projects on display, becomes part of the conference experience on the day. What has been a gallery of photographs and descriptions turns into something more hands-on, with live demos and the chance to meet the people behind the projects. The exhibition remains open until 5 April and will continue online through the Local Foundation website after that.


Practical details

Doors open at 8:30.
Talks start at 9:00.
Lunch and coffee are included in the ticket price.
The day closes at 17:00 with an afterparty.
Tickets are available at geeksessionsconf.pt.

Partners, sponsors and supporters

GeekSessionsConf2026 is supported by its partners Amarca, WildCarob Web Studio, IPDJ, GDG Faro and Local Foundation, with Calliope — Agência Digital and Salty Lavender Full-service Marketing Agency as media partners.

The conference is sponsored locally by Turbine Kreuzberg, Algarve Evolution, AuroraMed, Naviu, Critical Software and 351 Portuguese Startup Association, and globally by Google and JetBrains.

Event: GeekSessionsConf2026
Date: 21 March 2026
Venue: IPDJ Faro, Rua da PSP, Edifício IPDJ, 8000‑408 Faro, Portugal
Website: geeksessionsconf.pt
Tickets: ti.to/localfoundation/geek-sessions-conf-26
Community Map: on display at IPDJ until 5 April
VR experience: Making Art In My Dreams by Leena Jääskeläinen, with equipment by Squared Potato
Community: geeksessions.io Contact: geeksessions@gmail.com

For media enquiries, please contact the GeekSessions organising team at geeksessions@gmail.com.