Global Conference 2026

Humanitarian Leadership and the Future of Global Development

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The global development landscape has been rapidly and profoundly transformed. As nationalism reshapes foreign policy priorities, major powers have sharply reduced foreign aid budgets and reconsidered the role of soft power, leaving long-dependent nations and populations exposed. Nearly a year since the formal dissolution of USAID and the broader contraction of international development funding, this session looks at what comes next. Where have nontraditional partnerships emerged to fill the vacuum? How are development-finance institutions, philanthropic organizations, and private sector investors reorienting their roles? And where do critical gaps remain—particularly in global health infrastructure and humanitarian programs—that no agency has yet stepped in to address? 

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    Moderator

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    Nicholas Kristof

    Columnist, The New York Times

    Speakers

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    Cindy McCain

    Executive Director, World Food Programme
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    Janti Soeripto

    President and CEO, Save the Children US