In addition to several Access Conferences in 2025, Access aficionados will be able to have regular top ups of their Access knowledge by attending the various Access User Group meetings.
The first cluster of virtual user groups is the global platform AccessUserGroups.org, provided by Access MVP Juan Soto.
The groups have a monthly meeting schedule with an invited speaker presenting a topic relevant to Access developers. Sessions include time for questions, general discussion and for sharing ideas. All meetings are led by current or former MVPs and are free for all to attend. Unless otherwise stated, meetings are in English with captions available.
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Depending on your time zone, meetings are available at times from breakfast, lunch, evening or even during the night. All meetings are recorded and made available on YouTube shortly after the session.
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Access Lunchtime (AL) https://accessusergroups.org/lunch/
Our group is focused on helping users, IT pros, developers and new users have a place to meet, share ideas and get questions answered. Â
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Meets on the last Tuesday of the month, from 12 noon Central US Time (UTC-5 in summer / UTC-6 in winter) and are led by Maria Barnes.Â
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Access Europe (AEU) https://accessusergroups.org/europe/
The group’s focus is on innovative and lesser-known features in Access and is led by Colin Riddington.
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Meets on the first Wednesday of each month starting at 18:00 (6 PM) UK time (UTC+1 in summer / UTC in winter)
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Access Espana (ESP) https://accessusergroups.org/espana/
The group is designed for both newbies and expert developers. Meetings are led by Juanjo Luna and are in Spanish.
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Meets on the third Thursday of each month at 9:00 pm (21:00) Central European Time (UTC+2 in summer / UTC+1 in winter)
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SQL Server With Access (SA) https://accessusergroups.org/sql-server-with-access/
The group’s objectives are to discuss, help and provide information on how to use Access with SQL Server.
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Meets every second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm (18:30) Central US Time (UTC-5 in summer / UTC-6 in winter) and led by Juan Soto.
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Access Pacific (AP) https://accessusergroups.org/pacific/
Led by George Hepworth. Provides a late day forum for Access users locally and around the world.
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Meets on the first Thursday of every month, from 6:30 pm (18:30) Pacific Time (UTC-7 in summer / UTC-8 in winter).
Access Latino America https://accessusergroups.org/access-latino/
Led by Edgar Olivares. Meetings are in Spanish.
Meets on the 4th Thursday of each month at 9pm (21:00) Central Standard Time - Mexico City (UTC-6).
Access Italia https://accessusergroups.org/italia/
Led by Alessandro Grimaldi. Provides a forum for Italian Access developers (but open to all), professionals and amateurs to share knowledge, tips, tricks and ideas about MS Access. Meetings will be in Italian.
Meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 19:00 to 20:00 Central European Time (UTC+2 in Summer, UTC+1 in Winter)
Access Express Australia https://accessusergroups.org/access-express-australia/
Led by Kent Gorrell. The group will be discussing all things Access and SQL Express
Meets on the third Friday of each month at 11:30 Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
Access Beginners https://accessusergroups.org/access-beginners/
Led by Juan Soto. The group's objectives are to discuss, help and provide information on how to use Microsoft Access from a beginner's perspective.
Meets every third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm (18:30) Central US Time (UTC-5 in summer / UTC-6 in winter).
The YouTube channel for AccessUserGroups.org contains the recordings of all meetings.
In Germany, there is the tradition of Access-Stammtisch (regulars' table). Traditionally, these are meetings in pubs, beer gardens and similar places. After the Covid era, most meetings are face-to-face again.
The Access-Stammtisch Hannover meets once a quarter, on the third Wednesday of the second month. The next planned dates are February 19 and May 21, 2025.
The Access-Stammtisch Ruhrpott meets every 3rd Friday in odd-numbered months. The next planned date is January 17, 2025.
The Access-Stammtisch Rhein-Main usually meets on the last Friday of the month. The next planned dates are January 31 and February 21, 2025.
The Access-Stammtisch Munich meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month. The next meeting is on January 9, 2025.
There were or are a few more regulars' tables in Germany (Stuttgart, Berlin, Bremen, etc.), but their current status is unclear. Even before Covid, some of them didn't have websites and the pandemic certainly didn't help with organizing.
In the United Kingdom, the UK Access User Group was established in 1995 as a subscription service. It is led by Peter Bryant, Rod Gordon and Andrew Richards.
The group continues to run a mixture of online and live events. Membership is currently £65 per year but the cost of live events is reduced by that amount for members. Their next live conference is on May 15, 2025 at Imperial College London. Recordings of all online events are available to members. The group also has a very active list server (email group).
In addition to the formal Access User Groups listed above, other, less formal, local groups in your area may also meet to discuss Access topics. You might contact other Access developers to see if a group exists near you.
If you know of further Access user groups anywhere in the world, please write us a comment with information and links about them.