Europe has the talent, creativity and ambition to lead in immersive technologies, but success will depend on…

By Camille Donegan, CEO at Eirmersive

Last week was one of those weeks that reminds what a privilege it is to be representing Ireland's immersive and creative industry ecosystems in important conversations at both an All-Ireland and European level.

I started in Brussels at Creative Skills Week 2026, where it was fantastic to see Ireland so well represented through the work of Creative Futures Academy and CCIS Skillnet. Congratulations to all of the Irish voices who gave insightful contributions to discussions on creative skills, creative confidence, ecosystem development and how culture and creativity can help Europe navigate complex social, economic and technological change. The event brought together policymakers, educators, industry leaders and creatives from across Europe to explore how creative skills can drive innovation far beyond the cultural and creative sectors.

While in Brussels, I also had the opportunity to speak at the OPENVERSE Summit, joining colleagues from across Europe to discuss the future of open, human-centric virtual worlds. My contribution focused on immersive technology adoption across industry, particularly the barriers facing SMEs as they move beyond pilots and proofs of concept towards meaningful deployment at scale. These conversations are increasingly important as Europe works to build competitive, interoperable and inclusive virtual world ecosystems.

Thank you to Gianluca Misuraca (Inspiring Futures) for chairing and Pierre Rossel (Inspiring Futures), Patricia Pons Tomas (ITI Valencia), Kathrine Fremming (Khora)​and Matthieu Worm (Virtual Worlds Association) for a progressive and inspiring conversation.

From there, it was on to Ars Electronica in Linz, one of the world's most influential gatherings at the intersection of art, technology and society. Here I was delighted to present on behalf of XR4Europe, on the topic of EU funding opportunities, to the Dutch CIIIC ADRIE consortiums.

While at Ars Electronica, it was wonderful to connect with The Performance Corporation Space programme participants and Hanna Slattne fresh from Venice Immersive, and to catch up with Aisling Murray from Beta Festival, who was presenting as part of the Creative Europe networking programme.

Across all three events, a common theme emerged: Europe has the talent, creativity and ambition to lead in immersive technologies, but success will depend on stronger collaboration between industry, education, culture, policymakers and investors.

Ireland has an important role to play in that conversation, and that was well proven by the strong, smart, articulate Irish voices I was proud to be among last week in Brussels and Linz.

Camille Donegan, CEO at Eirmersive, on the Session 1 panel at the OPENVERSE Summit