- The World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development
Impact Meetings 2026 will take place in New York from 21 to
24 September, alongside the 81st United Nations General
Assembly. - High-level working sessions across the
Forum’s long-standing communities will focus on climate
and nature, responsible AI and frontier technologies, and
mobilizing capital for greater impact. - Amid a
shifting geoeconomic landscape, the meetings aim to drive
collaborative action and long-term progress, building
momentum in the lead-up to the World Economic Forum Annual
Meeting 2027.
Close to 1,000 leaders from
government, business, international organizations, civil
society and academia will gather in New York for the World
Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Meetings
2026 (SDIM26), from 21 to 24 September. Taking place
alongside the 81st United Nations General Assembly
High-Level Week, the meetings will focus on how to foster
resilient growth, build new partnerships that mobilize
capital for the greatest impact, and responsibly deploy
artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies to
create economic and societal value.
With global growth
under pressure from geopolitical uncertainty
and rapid technological advances opening new opportunities,
SDIM26 will convene high-level leaders in action-oriented
working sessions bringing together the Forum’s
long-standing communities. Discussions will focus on
identifying where progress is possible and turning dialogue
into collective action, with a particular focus on long-term
impact and building momentum towards the World Economic
Forum Annual Meeting 2027.
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“Economic growth and
sustainable development should not be seen as competing
objectives. The challenge is how to create growth that is
resilient enough to endure future shocks and broad enough to
create opportunity,” said Alois Zwinggi, President and
CEO, World Economic Forum. “This is precisely when
cooperation matters most. As debate becomes increasingly
polarized, SDIM26 provides a space where different
perspectives can be heard and common ground
explored.”
Participants will include close to 100
government and international organization leaders, more than
500 business executives and over 100 civil society leaders,
alongside representatives from academia.
Top
political leaders partaking in the meetings include:
José Manuel Restrepo, Vice-President of
Colombia; Francisca Tatchouop Belobe,
Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism,
Industry, and Minerals, African Union Commission;
João Paulo Capobianco,
Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil;
Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality,
Preparedness and Crisis Management, European Commission;
Roberto Velasco Alvarez, Secretary of
Foreign Affairs of Mexico; Hwang Jong-woo,
Minister of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea;
Mehmet C. Oz, Administrator, Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services, USA; Jasem Al
Budaiwi, Secretary-General, Gulf Cooperation
Council; Lee Maiyani Kinyanjui, Cabinet
Secretary for Trade, Investments and Industry of Kenya;
Youssef Rajji, Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Emigrants of Lebanon; Muhammad
Aurangzeb, Minister of Finance and Revenue of
Pakistan.
Leaders from the international organization
community include: Kristalina Georgieva,
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
(IMF); Alexander De Croo, Administrator,
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Anna
Bjerde, Managing Director, Operations, World Bank
Group; Barham Salih, High Commissioner for
Refugees, UNHCR; Ilan Goldfajn, President,
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Mirjana
Spoljaric Egger, President, International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC); Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health
Organization (WHO); Tom Fletcher, United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA).
Featured Forum
communities include the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders,
First Movers Coalition, Faith in Action, the AI Global
Alliance, Global Coalition for Digital Safety,
InvestFrontier, the Resilience Consortium, Humanitarian and
Resilience Investing, and UpLink. Select sessions and
plenary moments will be livestreamed here
to engage both in-person participants and global online
audiences.
The programme will include sessions on the
future of humanitarian action and impact investment,
inclusive economic growth, the green and blue economies,
climate action, the global gender gap and AI’s role in the
economy. New Forum research will be published during the
week, including the Chief Economists’ Outlook and Chief
Sustainability Officers’ Outlook, and reports on green and
resilient data centres, valuing impact and the effects of
extreme heat on workers.
About the
Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2026
The
Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2026 (SDIM26) will
take place in New York, USA, on 21-24 September and bring
together senior leaders from across sectors and regions to
advance solutions to shared opportunities and challenges,
with a particular focus on long-term impact and building
momentum before the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
2027.
