FEU publishes draft programme for Leadership Conference at Interschutz in Hannover

Leadership conference details and timings

The FEU Leadership Conference is scheduled to run on 3 to 4 June 2026 in Hannover, Germany, alongside Interschutz at Deutsche Messe.

The Federation of EU Fire Officers (FEU) has outlined the event as a leadership forum for senior decision-makers in fire and rescue services and civil protection, with more than 300 senior fire chiefs and strategic leaders expected to attend.

The conference is being held in partnership with Deutsche Messe as part of INTERSCHUTZ 2026.

Leadership conference programme and speakers

The Leadership Conference programme is presented as a draft, with several speaker slots marked as pending confirmation.

Day 1 is titled “Global Strategy and Security”, with the theme “Adapting to Disruption – Building Strategic Readiness in a Volatile World”.

Registration is listed from 10:00 to 12:00 on 3 June, followed by lunch from 11:30 to 12:30.

The official opening session, “Europe’s Leadership in Resilience”, is listed from 12:45 to 13:15 with Stephan Wevers, President at FEU, and Dr Jochen Köckler, Chair at Deutsche Messe, with Hannover’s Oberbürgermeister Belit Onay marked as pending.

A keynote from DG ECHO is scheduled from 13:15 to 13:40, titled “From Policy to Protection: Europe’s Civil Response to Complex Crises”, with Maciej Popowski listed as speaker.

A NATO keynote is scheduled from 13:45 to 14:10, titled “Security in a Shifting World”, with the speaker line shown as “NATO Secretary General or Deputy (Pending)”.

A session titled “Rebuilding Under Fire: Ukraine’s Frontline Lessons” is scheduled from 14:15 to 14:40, with the Ukraine State Fire Service marked as pending.

A keynote titled “Estonia: Resilience and civil readiness in an age of permanent disruption” is scheduled from 15:30 to 15:50, with Director General Marko Klaos listed as speaker.

Day 2 is titled “Climate, Innovation & Leadership”, with the theme “Leading Through Disruption – Resilience, Innovation, and Human Leadership”.

Opening remarks are listed from 09:45 to 09:55, titled “Setting the Tone for Action”, with Wevers as speaker.

A keynote titled “Lessons from the LA Fires” is scheduled from 10:15 to 10:35 with LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone listed.

A keynote titled “Response to extreme climate events” is scheduled from 10:40 to 11:00 with Australia Fire Services’ Darren Klem listed.

A keynote titled “Wildfires & Cross border cooperation” is scheduled from 11:05 to 11:25 with Dutch Wildfire Management speakers listed as Jelmer Dam and Brian Verhoeven.

A keynote titled “London Fire Brigade: Transforming Through Leadership” is scheduled from 13:15 to 13:40 with Fire Commissioner Jonathan Smith listed.

A keynote titled “Innovation and Preparedness in Asia” is scheduled from 13:45 to 14:10 with Commissioner Eric Yap of the Singapore Civil Defense Force listed.

Registration, sponsor slots and networking events

The programme lists sponsor segments across both days, including short presentations and sponsor-branded breaks.

VIP tours titled “Interschutz Experience” are scheduled from 16:30 to 18:00 on 3 June and described as guided visits for speakers, sponsors and senior delegates.

A VIP dinner is listed from 18:30 to 20:30 on 3 June, described as hosted by FEU and Interschutz, with a speaking opportunity shown for a gold sponsor.

An “Exhibitors’ Night (Münch Hall)” is listed for 18:00 on 4 June as an optional add-on priced at €100 per person.

Wevers wrote: “It is my pleasure to invite you to the FEU Leadership Conference, to be held on 3–4 June 2026 during Interschutz in Hannover, Germany.

“With this first edition, our ambition is to build Europe’s premier strategic platform for the leaders who shape the future of our fire and civil protection services.

“Across the world, we face a convergence of pressures such as hybrid threats, geopolitical instability, digital vulnerability, extreme climate events, and rising expectations from our citizens.

“The need for clear-headed, future-oriented leadership has never been greater.

“The conference theme, Safeguarding Tomorrow, brings this challenge into focus.

“Over two days, we convene senior voices from the European Commission, NATO, national fire and civil protection agencies, and global fire service leaders from the United States, Australia, Singapore and other international partners, we will examine how our services must evolve to remain capable, resilient, and strategically aligned in a disrupted world.”

He added: “It is our shared responsibility to shape the strategic direction of our sector at a time when Europe’s resilience is being tested on multiple fronts.”