CLA Amsterdam edition

University of Amsterdam, 6 – 8 May 2026

The 8th Edition of the Consumer Leadership Academy (CLA) will take place from May 6 to 8, 2026, at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), The Netherlands, under the title: ‘Fairness by design: generating trust and empowering consumers’.

Program

As the EU moves beyond the Digital Services Act toward a potential Digital Fairness Act, we find ourselves at a critical juncture where compliance is no longer merely a legal hurdle, but a complex communicative and design challenge. This edition’s theme invites us to explore the architecture of influence. By drawing on communication science, behavioral research, and human-centered design, we will bring together legal, design, and technical perspectives to investigate how persuasion can be designed responsibly, rather than treated only as a risk to be mitigated.

6 – 8 May 2026

DAY 1 | THE ARCHITECTURE OF INFLUENCE/PERSUASION

  • 01
    // WELCOME ADDRESS / INSTITUTIONAL REMARKS

    Opening Greetings
    – Christa Boer, Dean, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, UvA

    Introduction to CEP and Consumer Leadership Academy
    – Marco Scialdone, Director, Consumer Empowerment Project
    – Sebastian Sposito, Public Affairs Manager for Europe, Google

  • 02
    // Digital Fairness Compass: Navigating the Future of Consumer Protection

    – Isabelle Pérignon, Director for Consumer policy, European Commission

  • 03
    // Algorithmic persuasion & the attention economy

    – Guda van Noort, Professor of Persuasion & New Media Technologies, UvA
    – Yajing Wang, PhD Candidate, UvA

  • 04
    // Translating rules into digital environments: Fair design

    – Iris van Buggenum, Enforcement Official, Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets

  • 05
    // The Trust Crisis

    – Theo Araujo, Professor of Media, Organizations and Society, UvA

  • 06
    // Workshop | Persuasive Architecture Audit

    – Merel Walraven, UvA and Researcher, Dutch Gambling Authority
    – Eva van den Broek, Founder, Behavioural Insights Nederland

DAY 2 | THE LEGAL DESIGN LABORATORY

  • 01
    // From legal text to persuasive environments

    – Amit Zac, Assistant Professor, UvA

  • 02
    // Interdisciplinary perspectives on dark patterns and law

    – Johanna Gunawan, Assistant Professor, Maastricht University

  • 03
    // Unpacking deceptive design: A user-centric framework for assessing dark patterns

    – Esra Ozkan, UX Research and Insights Lead, Google
    – Zuhal Ayar, Legal Counsel, Regulatory Affairs, Google

  • 04
    // The Fair Interface Principles Lab

    – Alain Starke, Assistant Professor, UvA

DAY 3 | CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT & THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL PERSUASION

  • 01
    // Defining new view on “digital vulnerability”

    – Joanna Strycharz, Assistant Professor, UvA

  • 02
    // Co-created Personalization: Architecting AI Memory for Agency and Trust

    – Nava Zokaei, UX Researcher – Personalized AI Experiences, Google

  • 03
    // The Road to the Digital Fairness Act: Regulating Persuasive Systems

    – Marco Scialdone, Head of Litigation and Academic Outreach, Euroconsumers

Faculty

Our speakers