Live demonstrations, more than 500 sessions and 150 exhibitors await participants in RootsTech 2026 this week. The world’s largest family history conference, hosted by FamilySearch, is a 3-day conference at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. It’s become the place for people to explore, share, preserve and connect with their heritage, cousins and ancestors.
BYU-Idaho Radio is going to the conference to help those who can’t make it in person have a deeper experience. The theme for this year’s conference is “Together.”
“There’s so much power in that word ‘together,’” Wing said in a live event announcing the theme on Dec. 17. “It’s power in numbers. It’s people coming together for a common goal, common cause … who want to make meaningful discoveries in their family history.”
The event attracts thousands of participants to the in-person event and millions of participants online. To help those online participants, RootsTech has added 10 global emcees who represent different regions of the world. Their job will be to guide participants through experiences in their own languages.
Global Participation
For the first time, RootsTech will also have an emcee who represents the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
“People on social media come to me to learn about their ancestry,” signed Katrina Trevenen, the ASL emcee. “So I’m thrilled as well to do even more on top of what I do now for the deaf community and help them enjoy RootsTech.”
The global emcees are Isaac Turner (British English), an actor from north England; Janella Renner (Philippines), a Filipino-American who has worked with CNN Philippines and the Filipino Communications Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Rosca Nsieta (French), a musician born near Paris of Congolese descent who draws inspiration from both her African and French roots; Hannah Gruse (German), who was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, who built a career in various law firms and now contributes to the Church’s legal department; Denise Sottili (Italian), who was born in Florance, Italy, and previously worked for FamilySearch International; Hiromi Ogata (Japanese), who was born and raised in Yamaguchi, Japan, who was worked as a radio commentator; Jin Young Park (Korean), who has a Ph.D. in journalism and lives in Gwanju, South Korea; Nicole Luz (Portuguese), a singer from Brazil who is known on screen, on stage and on social media; and Junior Tovar (Spanish), who is a Bolivian songwriter, musician and producer with a marketing degree from BYU-Idaho.
Keynote Speakers
The conference will include keynote speakers and industry experts who will share stories from their own lives about family history. In-person keynote speakers include Steve Rockwood, the president and CEO of FamilySearch; Marlee Matlin, an Academy Award-winning actress and author; Tara Roberts, a National Geographic explorer in residence, author and historian; and Steve Young, NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP.
The video for the virtual keynote speakers is already available. Those speakers include the Gardiner Brothers, award-winning Irish dancers; Jessica Soho, an award-winning Filipina broadcast journalist; José Hernandez, a Mexican-American engineer and NASA astronaut; and Zico, a Brazilian football legend.
To participate in-person, registration starts at $79 for a 1-day pass and $129 for a 3-day pass. Online registration is free and includes more than 200 sessions, including live keynote sessions.
Family Discovery Day
Saturday is Family Discovery Day, which is a free event. Registration is not required. It’s designed with Latter-day Saints in mind and will include family-friendly activities and a keynote address from Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband.
BYU-Idaho Radio plans to interview some of the keynote speakers, show behind-the-scenes content and discover the latest in family history research and tools. Follow our journey on our Instagram andFacebookpages. For those who will be at the conference in person, direct message us on social media or email isleb@byui.edu.