How Discussions
Unfold at GESE
The Games Executive Summit Europe (GESE) is built on the belief that transformative ideas require space, trust, and structure. Unlike traditional conferences, GESE offers an intimate and carefully moderated environment where strategic conversations are designed to travel beyond the present, projecting into the future of our industry.
At its core, GESE is a journey of foresight: participants not only exchange views on today’s most pressing challenges, but also co-create a shared narrative of what lies ahead. This narrative takes form in the GESE Almanac 2030, a living document that captures the collective intelligence of the group and outlines potential futures for games and digital entertainment.
A Shared Agenda,
Shaped in Advance
The GESE experience begins months before the actual gathering, with a collaborative process to identify the most relevant themes. Through surveys, conversations, and feedback rounds, participants are invited to share their current priorities, challenges, and strategic interests.
This input helps define the thematic pillars of the summit. Rather than a fixed program imposed from outside, GESE develops a living agenda, shaped by its members and guests, ensuring that discussions resonate with the real concerns and ambitions of the group.
Designing Conversations,
Not Presentations
The summit sessions are not about panels, keynotes, or staged debates. GESE is a facilitated think tank, where discussions are structured to encourage openness, contrast perspectives, and generate collective foresight.
With the support of expert facilitators from Essex78 and Mindfitness, the agenda is translated into a sequence of dialogues, breakout groups, and roundtable formats, each designed to push participants to think beyond the immediate horizon and contribute to the long-term narrative of the Almanac.
Confidentiality and Trust
To ensure maximum openness, all conversations at GESE are conducted under the Chatham House Rule. Participants are free to speak frankly, knowing their contributions will enrich the collective process without public attribution. This safe space is one of the foundations of GESE’s credibility and depth.
Real-Time Documentation
A dedicated team documents the sessions in real time, not to transcribe, but to capture insights, tensions, emerging trends, and possible scenarios. Facilitators and participants work together to validate these notes, ensuring accuracy and richness.
This material feeds directly into the GESE Almanac 2030, a strategic, forward-looking document that distills the discussions into a narrative about what the future of our industry might look like by the end of the decade. The Almanac is not a roadmap or a manifesto, but a shared reflection of foresight, a resource that inspires new strategies, collaborations, and ideas long after the summit ends.
Post-Summit:
From Conversations to Impact
After the event, Essex78 coordinates the production of the Almanac, weaving together the validated notes into a structured narrative. This process includes:
Editorial refinement with facilitators and a small working group
Careful editing to ensure clarity without breaching confidentiality
Selective distribution within the GESE network and to relevant institutional partners
The result is a collective map of possible futures, authored by the leaders of GESE, which continues to influence strategy and debate across the industry.
The Role of the
Facilitation Team
The facilitation team is central to the GESE methodology. Their role includes:
Designing the flow and structure of discussions.
Encouraging balance and equity in participation.
Surfacing tensions and enabling productive debate.
Coordinating with note-takers and editors to translate dialogue into clear insights.
Their expertise ensures that GESE is not just a meeting of minds, but a laboratory of ideas capable of shaping long-term visions.
GESE is not about speaking louder, it’s about listening deeper, thinking further ahead, and building smarter together.
If you are ready to step into the future of games and digital entertainment, GESE is where it begins.
