The event will examine how the humanitarian landscape is being reshaped by global risks and trends, such as the erosion of multilateralism and the acceleration of technological change through artificial intelligence, as well as the immediate drivers of need identified in the Global Humanitarian Overview.
Under the theme Navigating Global Risks: Priorities for the Future of Humanitarian Action, the event will provide a unique forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue on emerging global risks and trends shaping humanitarian action in 2026 and beyond. Anchored in ongoing reform efforts under the Humanitarian Reset and UN80, it will make a timely and substantive contribution to strategic reflection on the future of humanitarian action. Co-organized with University of Oxford Nuffield College, the event will bring together historical, political economic, and operational perspectives to examine how humanitarian action must adapt under conditions of systemic stress, considering the practical realities and trade-offs facing humanitarian actors today while building on long-term institutional lessons. Perspectives from crisis affected countries and Global South contexts will further inform the dialogue, grounding strategic debates in the operational realities of humanitarian response.
