Digital Qazaqstan Forum 2026: AI, Industry 5.0 in Shymkent
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Kazakhstan's Digital Qazaqstan Forum 2026 in Shymkent: Industry 5.0, AI, and human-technology collaboration for nationwide growth.
Kazakhstan's inaugural Digital Qazaqstan Forum on 27 March 2026 in Shymkent will be the nation's premier event for AI, the digital economy, and Industry 5.0. Replacing the former Digital Almaty brand, the one-day conference will feature keynotes, panel discussions, and competitions focused on integrating AI into industry, government, and education. Shymkent's selection as host underscores a national commitment: ensuring technological progress benefits the entire country, not just its largest cities. The forum will convene global leaders, experts, and innovators to shape Kazakhstan's digital future.
What is the Digital Qazaqstan Forum 2026 and why is it important?
The Digital Qazaqstan Forum 2026 is Kazakhstan's new flagship conference focused on artificial intelligence, the digital economy, and Industry 5.0. Held in Shymkent, it serves as a key platform for advancing nationwide digital transformation, fostering human-technology collaboration, and driving innovation across government and industry.
The forum marks a strategic shift, moving beyond the previous capital-centric model to promote a country-wide digital evolution. By rotating the venue outside of major financial hubs, organizers are broadcasting a clear message: the transition to Industry 5.0 is a national imperative, requiring participation from all regions.
"Industry 5.0: The Power of Interaction" - What It Means in 2026
For Kazakhstan, Industry 5.0 represents a crucial evolution from pure automation to harmonious human-technology collaboration.
"Artificial intelligence, data and robotics are viewed not only as productivity tools, but as instruments for sustainable development and human empowerment," the programme document states.
In practice, the forum will explore:
- AI-powered decision support for industrial workers on the factory floor.
- Predictive analytics to enhance machine uptime and worker safety.
- Adaptive digital public service agents that improve with each citizen interaction.
The agenda is organized into three cross-cutting tracks:
| Track | Core Question | Expected Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Industry | How can Kazakh factories combine IoT, AI and robotics to raise output without increasing headcount? | Edge analytics, digital twins, computer-vision quality control |
| GovTech 3.0 | Which routine public services can be delegated to AI agents while preserving transparency? | NLP chatbots, risk-scoring engines, open-data dashboards |
| Inclusive Tech | How do we equip SMEs, rural clinics and regional schools with the same AI fire-power enjoyed by large corporations? | Low-code platforms, affordable SaaS, shared super-compute credits |
Why Shymkent, Why Now?
- Shymkent hosts two of Kazakhstan's six special economic zones and a growing cluster of automotive, pharmaceutical, and food-processing plants, making it an ideal testbed for human-centric AI applications.
- The city's IT park, which is already home to 180 startups, is expected to double in size by 2027 as a direct result of the forum.
- The venue, Yu. Akhmetov Stadium & Congress Hall, is equipped to host plenary sessions, a 120-booth exposition, and a 24-hour hackathon simultaneously.
Inside the Day - Confirmed Elements
- Plenary Session: The morning features ministerial keynotes on the Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, a presidential initiative funding over 100 new regulations and eight national projects.
- Parallel Panels: Breakout sessions will cover specialized topics, including:
- Mining 5.0 - A case study on how KAZ Minerals uses vision-AI to analyze ore grades
- AI Therapist - An update on scaling the e-health agent currently serving 1.4 million citizens
- Data Ukimet 2.0 - A deep dive into the platform connecting 124 government databases and over 8,600 civil servants - Digital Qazaqstan Awards 2026: Recognizing excellence in Best Industrial AI Project, Best AI Government Service, and Regional AI Transformation. Winners receive marketing grants and priority access to the Alem.cloud supercomputer (2 exaflops, ranked 86th worldwide).
- Central Asia Programming Championship Finals: The region's top programmers compete for a 3 million tenge prize pool following online qualifiers on 28 February 2026.
Global Invitees and the Messaging Behind
According to local media, personal invitations have been extended to tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
While their attendance is unconfirmed, the gesture signals Kazakhstan's ambition to position the forum alongside premier global tech events such as GITEX, Web Summit, and AI Everything. It's a platform where government leaders engage directly with the architects of global technology standards.
Kazakhstan "wants to be a rule-maker, not a rule-taker in emerging-tech governance," Deputy Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development told el.kz .
From Law to Hardware - The 2026 Backdrop
The forum is a key milestone in a year of intense digital policy development:
- February: The inaugural Presidential Council on AI Development convened, establishing ethical guidelines for emotion-recognition technologies.
- Q2: The National AI Platform will launch, offering developers sandbox access to anonymized datasets and compute vouchers.
- December: Three new data centers are scheduled to come online, adding 12.9 MW of capacity - enough to support an additional 20,000 GPU cores for large language model training.
Where Business Fits In
For corporate attendees, the forum offers a direct path to engaging with the state's digital infrastructure. Executives can sign "Digital Trust" protocols, pre-approved templates that permit private data processing on secure government clouds while ensuring data ownership.
SMEs can apply for AI-SANA vouchers, valued at up to 10 million tenge each, which can be used for AI consulting, software, or workforce training.
Additionally, a 500 million USD venture fund, a joint initiative by the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund and Astana Hub, is available for export-focused IT startups. Forum attendees will receive priority screening for funding opportunities.
Practical Information
- Registration: Now open at digitalqazaqstan.kz/en. The early-bird fee is 45,000 tenge until 15 February, after which the standard fee is 65,000 tenge.
- Venue Shuttle: Complimentary bus services will run from Shymkent airport, the central railway station, and the Kazygurt border crossing.
- Language: All key sessions will feature simultaneous interpretation in Kazakh, Russian, and English.
- Livestream: The plenary hall and two main panel rooms will be broadcast live on YouTube and QSVOD, the national e-government video portal.
With hotels near the venue reporting 70% occupancy and local co-working spaces offering special "forum hack-packages," Shymkent is clearly ready. The event is more than a conference; it's a national showcase of how an emerging economy can fuse social policy, industrial strategy, and advanced technology into a unified, human-centric vision for the future.