Can artificial intelligence be creative? And, above all, what role will people play in a future where machines are increasingly able to design, process images and suggest solutions?
These are not questions for the tech world alone. They involve artists, designers, architects, businesses and, above all, the younger generations, who are being asked to come to terms with tools that are already changing the way we study and work.
It is precisely from this line of thinking that the twenty-first edition of Creactivity takes shape: the event devoted to research and innovation in design returns on November 12 and 13, 2026, at the Museo Piaggio in Pontedera.
This year’s theme, Intelligenza Artificiale, Design e Formazione (Artificial Intelligence, Design and Education), puts one of the most compelling questions of our time center stage: how to use new technologies without giving up the ability to imagine, interpret and develop original ideas.
Twenty-one editions bringing creativity and business together
Creactivity was born as a meeting place between education and the creative professions. Over the years the project has brought together students, teachers, designers, researchers and companies, turning Pontedera into a reference point for discussion about design culture.
The numbers tell the story: around 12,000 students and teachers involved, from 101 Italian and international schools, more than 360 experts, guests and tutors, and over 6,300 workshop registrations.
Once again the host is the Museo Piaggio, a particularly meaningful place in the history of Italian design. Here, where the Vespa was born, the relationship between industry, innovation and design remains a central theme.
Artificial intelligence: a tool or a new way of designing?
The program opens on Thursday, November 12, with the Open Conference, a series of talks bringing professionals and researchers together on generative artificial intelligence, systemic design, technological innovation and ethics.
Guests include Caterina Falleni, a designer and innovator with experience at Samsung Research America and Meta; Gloria Pizzilli, an illustrator and designer who has worked with The New Yorker, The New York Times and the Teatro alla Scala; and Stefano Mizzella, an expert in digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
Speakers will also include Maurizio Galluzzo, Roberto Montanari, Gianfranco Casano, Athos Boncompagni and other professionals from research, design and business.
The discussion will cover not only the opportunities offered by new technologies, but also the risk of creative processes becoming increasingly standardized. Because if an algorithm can quickly produce dozens of solutions, a designer’s value may lie more and more in the ability to choose, to give meaning and to ask the right questions.
WorkOut: 24 hours to turn ideas into projects
One of the most distinctive features of Creactivity is the WorkOut, a 24-hour design marathon that will involve more than 250 young participants.
High school and university students, academy and master’s students and young designers will work in teams, tackling design problems and developing proposals inspired by the themes of the event.
They will be guided by tutors, teachers and professionals, with the aim of turning the ideas sparked during the talks into concrete projects. This may be the most interesting side of the initiative: not just talking about innovation, but creating the conditions to experiment with it.
On Friday, November 13, the teams will present the results of their work, which will be judged by a panel of experts.
The future of education in the age of AI
Alongside the talks and workshops, a round table on the relationship between artificial intelligence and teaching is scheduled for Thursday, November 12.
Teachers, professionals, businesses and researchers will come together to ask which skills schools and universities will need to develop in the coming years.
What knowledge will remain essential? How will the teacher’s role change? And how can artificial intelligence be built into education without weakening critical thinking? These are questions that make Creactivity a compelling event well beyond the boundaries of design.
Prizes and awards for a forward-looking design culture
The event will close on Friday, November 13, with the Aftertalks & Awards, where the best projects developed during the WorkOut will be presented and awarded.
Among the prizes is the Vespa Award, dedicated to innovation and named in memory of Professor Tommaso Fanfani, the first president of the Fondazione Piaggio and one of the founders of Creactivity.
The 2026 edition also introduces the Premio MuDeTo Creactivity, promoted by the Museo del Design Toscano (the Tuscan Design Museum) to recognize products, designers and manufacturers that contribute to design culture in the region.
For Creactivity this is also a year of recognition: the event was selected for the ADI Design Index 2026, with a nomination for the Compasso d’Oro, and received the Premio Design per le Eccellenze Toscane.
Creativity is not an automatic answer
At a time when artificial intelligence promises to make many creative processes ever faster, initiatives like Creactivity are a reminder of how important it is to keep investing in people.
Technology can speed up work, suggest possibilities and open unexpected paths. But the ability to observe the world, understand its problems and imagine solutions that can make it better remains a deeply human responsibility.
And this may be exactly where the future of design will be decided: not in a competition between people and machines, but in the ability to build an intelligent relationship between the two.
Good to know
Creactivity 2026 – Intelligenza Artificiale, Design e Formazione.
When November 12 and 13, 2026
Where Museo Piaggio, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 7, Pontedera (Pisa)
Information, program and registration: https://www.progettocreactivity.com/
