Global Forum Calendar

UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17)

August 17-28, 2026 / Ulaanbaatar  / Event website

Focus: Desertification, land degradation, and drought, and will seek to foster collaboration, promote sustainable land management, and advance land restoration efforts.

World Water Week 2026

August 24-28, 2026 / Stockholm  / Event website

Theme: Water for People and Progress

18th World Congress on Public Health

September 6-9, 2026 / Cape Town  / Event website

Focus: Unites public health professionals, policymakers, and advocates worldwide to address the most pressing global health challenges.

Theme: Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability

New York Climate Week 2026

September 21-28, 2026 / New York  / Event website

Focus: Accelerate climate action by bringing together leaders from business, government, and civil society to discuss and implement solutions

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81st session)

September 22-28, 2026 / New York  / Event website

Focus: The main deliberative, policymaking, and representative body of the United Nations, providing a forum for its 193 member states to discuss a wide range of international issues.

UNGA 81 Main Committee Session

October–December 2026 / New York  / Event website

Focus: After the September General Debate, the Assembly’s six main committees negotiate the substantive agenda, the working phase in which most resolutions are decided, and civil society engages on specific issues.

First Committee: (Disarmament & International Security): October 1 – November 6, 2026

Second Committee: (Economic & Financial): early October – mid-November 2026

Third Committee: (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural): October 1 – November 20, 2026

Fourth Committee: (Special Political & Decolonization): October 1 – November 18, 2026

Fifth Committee: (Administrative & Budgetary): October – late December 2026

Sixth Committee: (Legal): October 5 – November 20, 2026 (incl. International Law Week Oct 26-30)

Building Bridges 7th edition

October 6-8, 2026 / Geneva  / Event website

Focus: A unique alliance spanning the financial sector, public authorities, and Geneva-based international organisations — this flagship event is a launchpad for investment-ready ideas, strategic alliances, and high-impact partnerships.

Theme: Sustainability, Resilience, and Security

World Food Forum (FAO)

October 8-16, 2026 / Rome  / Event website

Focus: The 2026 World Food Forum (WFF) flagship event, focusing on youth-led innovation, sustainability, and the transformation of agrifood systems. Key 2026 initiatives include Startup Innovation Awards, the Transformative Research Challenge, and Sustainable Gastronomy Week.

Theme: “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future,” focusing on the four betters: better production, nutrition, environment, and life

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World Health Summit 2026

October 11-13, 2026 / Berlin  / Event website

Focus:  Brings together global health stakeholders from all sectors and regions to find solutions for the most pressing health challenges.

Theme: From Crisis to Resilience: Innovating for Health

2026 World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund Fall Meetings

October 12-28, 2026 / Bangkok  / Event website

Focus: Global economic outlook, poverty eradication, financial stability, and aid effectiveness

UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17)

October 18-30, 2026 / Yerevan  / Event website

Focus: To protect and restore biodiversity to achieve a “peace with nature” by 2050

Theme: Taking Action for Nature

Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

October 19-23, 2026 / Rome  / Event website

Focus: The fifty-fourth plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security. With the vision to be the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform of the United Nations system for promoting food security and nutrition for all by using a multi-stakeholder and inclusive approach.

World Investment Forum 2026

October 25-27, 2026 / Doha  / Event website

Focus: UN’s flagship event for the global investment community. WIF 2026 will advance key global initiatives by linking high-level policy dialogue to concrete action.

Theme: Investing in the Future

NetHope Global Summit 2026

October 26-29, 2026 / Amsterdam  / Event website

Focus: Brings together humanitarian organizations and tech leaders for collaboration on digital solutions for global good.

Topics: Innovation, shared learning, and practical connections to build a more resilient future

Conference of Parties (COP31) – UN Climate Change Conference

November 9-20, 2026 / Antalya  / Event website

Heads of State Summit: TBD

Significance: 31st Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC

Key focus: Implementation, finance, and a just transition.

6th United Nations World Data Forum 2026

November 9-12, 2026 / Riyadh  / Event website

Host: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Focus: Held every two years and aims to spur data innovation, nurture partnerships, mobilize high-level political and financial support for data, and build a pathway to better data for sustainable development

Themes: Innovation for better and more inclusive data, Leveraging data and enhancing its value to support better decision-making, Building trust and protection, and promoting ethical use of statistical data, Effective partnerships for better data and a more equitable system.

Paris Peace Forum 2026

November 11-12, 2026 / Paris  / Event website

Focus: A global platform focused on reinventing diplomacy to address challenges like climate change, technological disruption, and geopolitical shifts, bringing together leaders from governments, international organizations, businesses, and civil society to develop practical, multi-actor solutions for global governance and sustainable prosperity, moving beyond just discussing problems to fostering concrete action

World Conference on Marine Biodiversity

November 17-20, 2026 / Bruges  / Event website

Theme: The marine biodiversity insights we need for the ocean we want

UN Water Conference

December 8-10, 2026 / Abu Dhabi  / Event website

Co-Hosts: Senegal and United Arab Emirates

Focus: Accelerate progress on SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, promoting investment, innovation, and global cooperation to build a water-secure future.

2026 G20 Summit

December 14-15, 2026 / Miami  / Event website

Host: United States of America

Focus: Annual meeting of leaders from the world’s major economies (19 countries + EU + African Union) to tackle key global issues like economic stability, climate change, sustainable development, and health, evolving from a finance-focused group to the premier forum for international economic cooperation. 

Themes: Unleashing economic prosperity by limiting regulatory burdens. Unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains. Pioneering new technologies and innovations.

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2027

January 18-22, 2027 / Davos

Focus: Public-private cooperation to tackle five key challenges: cooperation in a contested world, unlocking growth, investing in people, deploying innovation, and building prosperity within planetary limits, with a strong emphasis on dialogue and collective action for global solutions. 

Theme: TBD

South Africa Regional Meeting: The World Economic Forum has announced plans to revive its Africa summit in 2027, with South Africa selected to host this “Spring Davos”.

Global Government Leaders’ Forum

January 18-22, 2027 / Singapore  / Event website

Focus: Co-hosted with the Singapore public service, gathering senior public-sector leaders to discuss public-sector transformation and digital governance.

World Governments Summit 2027

February 1-3, 2027 / Dubai  / Event website

Focus: Brings together more than 6,000 delegates, heads of state, and ministers to shape the future of governance, public policy, and disruptive technologies, including AI.

63rd Munich Security Conference (MSC)

February 12-14, 2027 / Munich  / Event website

Focus: The world’s leading forum on international security and foreign policy, convening heads of state, ministers, and senior decision-makers to address pressing global security challenges.

Infrastructure Investor Global Summit

February 22-25, 2027 / Berlin  / Event website

Focus: A leading international gathering for global infrastructure investment, centering on sustainable capital deployment and energy-transition infrastructure.

Mobile World Congress (MWC Barcelona)

March 1-4, 2027 / Barcelona  / Event website

Focus: The world’s largest connectivity event, organized by the GSMA, bringing together tech leaders, operators, and regulators on 5G/6G advances, AI infrastructure, and digital policy.

International Solidarity Forum (ISF 2027)

March 1-5, 2027 / New York  / Event website

Focus: The 24th annual youth conference organized by the World Youth Alliance, featuring expert lectures and UN-style regional negotiations to draft a joint outcome declaration.

Theme: “From Conception: WYA International Solidarity Forum on Surrogacy.”

UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW71)

March 8-19, 2027 / New York  / Event website

Focus: The UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality, operating alongside a large parallel NGO CSW Forum for grassroots and civil-society participants.

Priority Theme: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Review Theme: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental, and disaster risk reduction policies and programs.

11th World Water Forum

March 22-28, 2027 / Riyadh  / Event website

Focus: Convened every three years with the World Water Council, featuring a dedicated Citizens’ segment for civil society and community water governance.

Theme: “Action for a Better Future,” organized around six sub-themes: Water Security; Water Governance & Diplomacy; Water for Humans & Nature; Water Finance; Innovation for Water; and Value of Water.

13th EDCTP Forum

April 5-9, 2027 / Madrid  / Event website

Focus: The biennial forum of the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership — a cornerstone event for global health research on infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, convening roughly 1,500 researchers, policymakers, funders, regulators, and civil-society representatives from across Europe and Africa.

Theme: “Innovating together for resilient global health.”

Second International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

April TBD, 2027 / Tuvalu  / Event website

Focus: The second summit of the “Santa Marta Process” — the first international forum on transitioning away from fossil fuels convened outside the UNFCCC consensus framework. Co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland (main conference in Tuvalu, pre-conference in Ireland), and building on the inaugural 2025 conference of 57 nations, it convenes governments and civil society around three workstreams: national and regional phase-out roadmaps, trade policy, and finance and debt.

UN ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up (FfD)

April TBD, 2027 / New York  / Event website

Focus: A UN intergovernmental forum reviewing implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and SDG financing, featuring a Special High-level Meeting with the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and UNCTAD. Civil society, the business sector, and local authorities participate alongside member states.

World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa

April TBD, 2027 / South Africa  / Event website

Focus: The WEF’s flagship Africa summit (“Spring Davos”), returning after a seven-year hiatus — a regional multistakeholder platform convening heads of state, business, civil society, and academia on African economic integration, the AfCFTA, energy transition, digitalization, and large-scale job creation.

Impact Investor Global Summit

May TBD, 2027 / London  / Event website

Focus: The leading global gathering on impact and transition investing, convening institutional investors, allocators, and fund managers on how private capital can be mobilised for net-zero energy transitions and measurable social and environmental outcomes.

26th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

May 10-21, 2027 / New York  / Event website

Focus: The largest global gathering of Indigenous Peoples and a high-level advisory body to UN ECOSOC, convening Indigenous representatives, member states, UN entities, and civil society across its six mandated areas: economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health, and human rights — with reference to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.