» Time Use Week 2026 will be organised during the week of 19-22 October, with the topic looking at social acceleration and its impact on well-being.
» As a new feature, this year’s edition opened a call for proposals both for speakers and practical experiences in time policies, with the deadline for submissions being the 23rd March.
From 19 to 22 October 2026, the Catalan Government, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and Time Use Initiative (TUI) will host Time Use Week 2026 in Barcelona, bringing together leading international experts, policymakers, researchers and practitioners to explore this year’s central theme: social acceleration and its impact on people’s well-being. Due to the subject being of great interest for all audiences, Time Use Week 2026 has a novelty feature: a call for proposals. It is aimed at any expert or institution with knowledge or good practices. To be part of the core programme, proposals can be received until 23rd March in these two categories:
- Call for speakers (self-nomination or recommendation).
- Call for practical experiences in time policies.
This year’s central theme of social acceleration and its impact on well-being dives into the concept that the pace of modern life is constantly increasing. The digital transformation of work and technological change are reshaping daily life across the world. At the same time, many people experience increasing levels of time poverty as their work-life imbalance becomes greater.
Time Use Week 2026 will serve as a global forum to explore how time organisation can be used as a tool for social justice, health, and sustainable development. Bringing together experts from multiple areas, the event aims to move beyond theory by transforming academic insights into actionable policies that reduce time poverty and improve quality of life. As the leading international event dedicated to time policies, it provides a unique space to exchange knowledge, share innovative solutions, and advance the public debate on how the organisation and governance of time shape societies around the world.
The calls are open to specialists in time policies and social acceleration, as well as public decision-makers and professionals from government, research centres, companies and civil society organisations. Contributors will have the opportunity to present their work to an international audience while shaping the future of time policies.
Further participation in Time Use Week
As always, Time Use Week 2026 will have the possibility for participating online or on-site, and with a central programme of activities and a decentralised one. Further information on the specific dates and how to participate in the different formats will be provided in the upcoming months.
