With a renewed format, Ópera Latinoamérica will launch its 2026 series of Digital Forums for members of the network. Unlike previous years, the sessions will be more interactive, creating a networking space that encourages peer-to-peer exchange of experiences and knowledge among professionals from the different areas of OLA member organizations.

Promoting collaborative networks, open knowledge, and professional development are among the key pillars of Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA). In this context, OLA will hold a new series of Digital Forums in 2026, featuring a redesigned format aimed at further strengthening an interconnected international community that can transform and enhance music and the performing arts across the region.

This year’s main innovation is the collaborative development of these spaces, making them more interactive and participatory. Each forum will therefore consist of two complementary sessions. The first will feature a presentation or keynote based on a case study, with experts from the OLA network introducing the topic and providing context. The second session will focus on a more participatory and collaborative discussion, building on the ideas and reflections that emerged during the previous meeting.

This new format responds to an internal consultation among OLA members about the needs of professionals across the network and how the organization’s platforms can best address them. In this way, the Digital Forums—free and exclusively available to teams from OLA member organizations—seek to support professionals from the network’s theatres as they navigate current challenges, fostering the exchange of experiences, the identification and dissemination of best practices, and providing inspiration for their day-to-day work through the participation of experts. The forums also seek to strengthen collaboration within the sector by creating opportunities for participating institutions to share knowledge, experiences, and tools.

The 2026 series will focus on four areas, each taking place over the course of one month between September and December:

Audience Development Digital Forum

A space to share experiences and reflect on how to strengthen the relationship between cultural organizations and their audiences. The forum will explore topics related to education, mediation, co-creation, co-programming, communities, and experience design, with a focus on strategies that foster closer, more participatory, and lasting relationships with audiences.

For: audience development teams; education and mediation teams; community engagement, programming, communications, marketing, sales, and audience experience teams.

Session 1

Date: Thursday, September 3

Topic: Participation, Collaboration, and Citizenship

Speaker: Miguel Galdón, Deputy Director Teatro de la Zarzuela

Zarzuela en construcción — a collaboration between Teatro de la Zarzuela and the community of Hoyo de Manzanares. Performed by young artists from Proyecto Zarza, this production combines music, theatre, and humour to offer a fresh and participatory approach to the world of zarzuela. It is an opportunity to discover the richness of our musical heritage and enjoy a production created to celebrate imagination, participation, and the power of the performing arts to bring an entire community together.

Session 2

Date: Thursday, September 17

Topic: To be determined collaboratively by session participants

Sustainability Digital Forum

How can cultural organizations strengthen their ability to thrive over time and create lasting value? This forum takes a broad approach to sustainability, encompassing its economic, environmental, social, and workplace dimensions. Across its sessions, participants will explore some of these areas in greater depth, sharing experiences and practical tools that can be applied to cultural management.

For: directors and management teams; administration and finance, fundraising, sales and partnerships, human resources, production and technical teams, sustainability, communications, and social impact teams.

Session 1

Date: Thursday, October 1

Topic: How to Build a Sustainable Organizational Culture

Speaker: Carolina Rangel, Director of Financial Administration and Sustainability, Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo

Session 2

Date: Thursday, October 22

Topic: To be determined collaboratively by session participants

Communications and Marketing Digital Forum

A space for exchanging experiences around the current challenges facing communications and marketing in cultural organizations. The forum will explore different aspects of an ecosystem that includes public affairs and reputation, press and media relations, digital platforms and social media, marketing and sales, artificial intelligence, and audience experience, among other topics relevant to strengthening institutional positioning and relationships with audiences and strategic stakeholders.

For: communications, marketing, press and content teams; public affairs, audience development, sales, partnerships, and fundraising teams; as well as other areas involved in institutional positioning.

Session 1

Date: Thursday, November 12

Topic: From Customers to Audiences: Building Loyalty

Speaker: To be confirmed

Session 2

Date: Thursday, November 26

Topic: To be determined collaboratively by session participants