Generation A-Z Conference 2026

09.00 Registration and coffee

09.45 Welcome and extended opening comments from the Chair

Sam Clough, Global Head of Youth Trends and Insight, SuperAwesome

10.00 Gen Alpha rising: what businesses need to know as the first AI-native generation approaches adulthood

Flume and Student Roost will unveil insights into the attitudes of Gen Alpha and their parents, towards education, technology, home life, and the wider world. Gen Alpha are the first AI-native generation. They’re growing up with virtual assistants in their homes, using tools such as ChatGPT to help with homework, and forming expectations of instant, intelligent support.

This session will explore how older Gen Alphas are forming expectations around independence, digital life, and identity. The session will also highlight how Student Roost is using these insights to shape future offerings and strategic planning and how, by extension, other brands might need to respond.

Andrew Jerina, Head of Research, Flume

Caroline Cockell, Director, Marketing, Student Roost

10.30 When play meets pay: children’s perspectives on persuasive design and spending pressures

From gaming upgrades to maintaining social media streaks, children face constant prompts and pressure to spend online, sometimes leading to feelings of regret. But when can these experiences constitute financial harm? This is what Ofcom set out to explore with a child-centric, qualitative examination of persuasive design on online platforms and potential financial harms among children.

This session will help delegates see through the eyes of children to understand five key categories of persuasive features that can contribute to potential financial harm and the mechanisms through which this occurs.

Kimberley Rennick, Research Director, Discovery Research

Cecilia Puttock, Senior Research Manager, Discovery Research

Hannah Bewley, Senior Research Associate, Ofcom

11.00 Morning refreshments

11.30 How children supported the release of IKEA’s new SANDLÖPARE range 

IKEA has always put children at the centre of their work and, with Family Kids & Youth, runs the international ‘IKEA Kids Advisory Panel’. The Panel was asked about the African Savanna and its diverse wildlife, and their views on sustainability and endangered species. This session explains how the children’s responses first helped the IKEA design team in Sweden, together with Swedish nature conservation centre Nordens Ark, shape the new SANDLÖPARE range. The subsequent in-store visit in the UK shows us what the Kids Panel think of the result! 

Barbie Clarke, Managing Director, Family Kids & Youth

Mark D’Souza, Range Team Manager for IKEA’s Global Children’s Offer, IKEA

12.00 Growing Pains: using generative AI to decode the evolution of childhood

Growing Pains research demonstrates how new technologies can shed light on cultural trends and help to reach hard-to-reach audiences. This research, which uses the voices of kids themselves, explores how social, cultural, and technological trends have impacted the experience of growing up. It also offers a candid look at the promise and pitfalls of using generative AI in research.

Delegates will hear how NRG analysed more than 7,000 original stories written by children over 20 years using generative AI to detect emotional and thematic shifts. The session illustrates how AI can be used to unlock value from novel data sources to tell powerful stories.

Fergus Navaratnam-Blair, Vice President, Trends and Futures, National Research Group (NRG)

Holly Hewlett, Vice President, Content Development and Marketing Strategy, National Research Group (NRG)

Bill Thompson, President – Head of Growth, Young Storytellers

12.30 Goals for girls: how youth insight supercharged the FA’s Squad Girls programme

The FA’s Squad programme provides a safe, empowering space for young females, part of their mission to diversify and tackle inequalities in the women's game.  This case study explores how See’s multimethod approach, engaged players, parents, coaches and coordinators. Carefully designed to consider sensitivity and prioritise the psychological safety of participants, focusing on meeting girls where they are.

Hear how the immersive methodology revealed the importance of inclusivity, flexibility and championing the social and psychological benefits of Football in driving engagement. Outputs supported The FA in driving participation and optimisations, influencing everything from design and communications to training and support.

Abigail Bryant, Director, See Research

Emily Cohen, Associate Director, See Research

Katherine Clarke, National Development Manager, The FA

13.00 Lunch

14.00 AI, aesthetics and adulthood: Gen A and Z’s new normal

The Nursery’s coming-of-age research uncovers core traits of Gen Z, as they move into adulthood and predicts how they might impact Gen Alpha. The session highlights the increase in traditional and right-wing views of young men (and the wider cohort) and how your 20s are no longer considered the fun years; it’s now your 30s. It examines shifting attitudes on body image, body confidence, aesthetics and ageing and how these forces are shaping Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s sense of beauty. It also considers the closing gap between humans and AI.

Rachael Turner, Research Manager, The Nursery Research & Planning

14.30 Investing in the age of Influence: Gen Z, AI, and the new financial frontier

Discover how Gen Z’s digital fluency is reshaping financial engagement as they begin to build their wealth.

This session will explore new multi-method qual and quant research that uncovers how Gen Z investors are transforming the investment landscape through their use of non-traditional information sources – in particular, finfluencers and AI tools. Hear how J.P. Morgan, is responding to these changes with their initiatives such as Investing in Your Future, which are evolving to meet the needs of younger investors.

Rachel Powell, Research Manager, Research in Finance

Kerry Haxby-Dean, Head of Investment Trust Marketing, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

15.00 Afternoon refreshments

15.30 Seeking community: Gen?Z’s relationship with music, culture, identity and belonging

Music is Gen?Z’s lifeline – a space for identity, connection and self-expression. This session reveals insights from ‘Seeking Community’, the first national qualitative study of 500 UK listeners aged 18-25 which delves into trends shaping music discovery, consumption and fan engagement.

This session tells the story of how an AI-moderated, voice-first platform captured authentic, in-the-moment stories revealing how young adults use streaming, playlists and online fandoms to navigate identity, cope with stress and engage with brands. It will explore the practicalities of running large scale research, from recruiting participants to synthesising thousands of hours of audio into a public white paper.

Lola Kaeppelin, Creative Producer, lemontank

Breyner Baptista, Innovation & Culture Director, Blackstar Agency

Greg Burke, CEO & Co-Founder, Tellet

Leon Neville, Director of Insight & Innovation, BPI

16.00 Participation and power: legislative theatre and more to put Gen A – Z in charge

How can we realign research methods to actively involve Gen A-Z in what influences them? At Thinks, this question shapes our partnerships with clients who want to highlight the voices of young people. Using innovative methods such as legislative theatre, our team authentically hear from participants to help organisations navigate the critical issues that will define the trajectory of the next generation – from their education and healthcare to employment and the surrounding technological implementation.

This session will demonstrate how creative participatory methods are being used, with input from DHSC on how the voices of young people shaped the 10-year plan. And from the Duke of Edinburgh Awards on how primary research was used to bring the voices of young people to the heart of parliament.

Panel

Lucy Farrow, Managing Partner, Thinks Insight & Strategy

Julia Ridpath, Director, Thinks Insight & Strategy

Toby Brown, Head of 10-Year Plan Engagement, DHSC

Derin Adebiyi, Head of External Affairs, Duke of Edinburgh Awards

16.30 Young people as ‘Agents of New Digital Worlds’: understanding Gen Z’s role in shaping the next media ecologies

This presentation introduces early findings from a foresight-driven research project within the CoSTAR Foresight Lab exploring how young people (13-24) are reshaping creative and technological futures.

Through a mixed-method approach combining horizon scanning, survey research, and creative psychology workshops, the project examines five “living conditions” that define youth experiences on platforms. Each condition traces how cognition, creativity, and selfhood are being reconfigured through platform participation revealing both vulnerabilities and opportunities.

Hear how by merging foresight and design psychology, the study investigates how distributed creativity and emerging platform economies influence agency, wellbeing, and the future of creative work.

Noemi Ponzoni, Head of Research, i2 media research (partner, CoSTAR Foresight Lab)

17.00 End of conference