Home>Youth & Leaders Summit 2026
27 January 2026
Youth & Leaders Summit 2026
About this event
From 27 January 2026 17:30 to 28 January 2026 21:00
Watch the recap of the 11th edition of the Youth & Leaders Summit and the replays of each session.
Read the recap article of the Summit written by PSIA volunteers.
11th edition: “Wanted: a UN Secretary General for a broken world”
Every year since 2016, the Youth and Leaders Summit is a paramount platform for public debate in international affairs. For its 11th edition, the Summit will be centered on the topic “Wanted: a UN Secretary General for a broken world” and will be held on the afternoon and evening of Tuesday 27 January and Wednesday 28 January 2026, during the first week of classes.
The 2026 Summit will be structured around different formats. Debates and conversations between leading personalities of international affairs and PSIA students. Panel discussions with up to five experts. Break-out sessions where a small group of students will discuss with one expert in a more informal setting will wrap up each day.
The Summit benefits from an exclusive media partnership with The New York Times.
Program
As candidates prepare their campaigns for the role of Secretary General, the UN’s top leadership role, the stakes for global cooperation have never been higher. Just a year after current UNSG António Guterres launched the Pact for the Future - a wide-ranging international agreement, designed to make the international system more inclusive, effective and fit for 21st-century challenges - the tide is turning: military budgets are swelling, sustainable development is sidelined, and the UN faces significant budget and staff cuts, over and above deeper losses across peacekeeping, humanitarian, and health agencies.
Moreover, ongoing global conflicts have reignited criticism of the Security Council’s effectiveness and legitimacy, with mounting calls to reform a system built in the aftermath of World War II so it can better respond to the geopolitical realities of the 21st century.
2025 marked ten years since the Paris Agreement, yet climate change continues to accelerate, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. What realistic hope is there for meaningful climate governance and action? Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence is reshaping societies faster than governments can respond and adapt. While it offers new tools for crisis response and development, it also introduces risks of surveillance, disinformation, and algorithmic bias. Can the UN become the “compass” guiding humanity toward a safe, inclusive, and sustainable digital future?
The world’s key multilateral institution needs a new leader who can navigate these intersecting challenges of this century with vision, determination, and equity; hence the theme of this year’s Summit: “Wanted: A UN Secretary General for a Broken World.”
Donwload the program and the speakers' biographies (PDF).
17:30 | Welcome & Opening Remarks
- Luis Vassy President, Sciences Po
- Arancha González Dean, PSIA
17:45 | In conversation with - How to be an activist in turbulent times?
- Kate Gilmore Chairperson, International Planned Parenthood Federation; former Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (2015-2019)
- Ríona Gillespie PSIA Student: Master in International Security
- Ndidi Nwuneli President & Chief Executive Officer, ONE Campaign
18:30 | The New York Times Debate - Guns or Butter: which should come first, security or human development?
- Alberto Alemanno Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law & Policy, HEC Paris; Democracy Fellow, Harvard University
- Kate Gilmore Chairperson, International Planned Parenthood Federation; former Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (2015-2019)
- Oana Lungescu Distinguished Fellow, Royal United Services Institute; former Spokesperson, NATO (2010-2023)
- Gabriela Ramos Co-Chair of the Task Force Inequalities & Social Financial disclosure; former Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO
Introduced by Paolo Zurlo PSIA Student: Master in International Governance and Diplomacy; Chengzhi Xu PSIA Student: Master in International Governance and Diplomacy
Moderated by Stephen Dunbar-Johnson President, International of The New York Times Company
Breakout sessions with speakers will take place at the end of the day. They are exclusively reserved for students currently at PSIA. Check your mailbox for instructions on how to sign up.
17:30 | In conversation with - How to deliver the promises of AI?
- Uljan Sharka Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Domyn
- Allegra Melli PSIA Student: Master in International Governance and Diplomacy
- Jack Rath PSIA Student: Master in International Security
Introduced by Paola A Garcia Muñoz PSIA Student: Master in Technology and Global Affairs
18:30 | Panel - Wanted: a UN Secretary General for a broken world
- Felipe Calderón former President of Mexico (2006-2012)
- Terezie Hiclová PSIA Student: Master in International Security
- H.E. Hina Rabbani Khar Chair of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee; Pakistan’s 26th Foreign Minister
- Vera Songwe Chair and Founder, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility; Non Resident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings
- Achim Steiner Chair, Hamburg Sustainability Conference; former Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (2017-2025);
Introduced by Mark Sijtsma PSIA Student: Master in International Governance and Diplomacy
Moderated by Vuk Jeremić Editor in Chief, Horizons; former President of the United Nations General Assembly
20:00 | Concluding remarks
- Arancha González Dean, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po
Introduced by Aisyah Lyana PSIA Student: Master in Technology and Global Affairs
Breakout sessions with speakers will take place at the end of the day. They are exclusively reserved for students currently at PSIA. Check your mailbox for instructions on how to sign up.
Registration
The Summit is open to PSIA students as well as to the whole Sciences Po community. Anyone can register to attend the major sessions during the day. Please note the Summit will take place in-person on Sciences Po's Paris campus.
External guests registration for the summit
The summit is open for the external guests as well. However, please note that registration for external guests is subject to availability.
Registration for breakout sessions
Breakout sessions take place in-person, and are allocated troughout the two days of the Summit.
Breakout sessions are available exclusively to PSIA students, to give you the chance to exchange informally with one of the speaekrs in a small group setting.
Because the number of seats is limited, a random draw is conducted to select student participants. Some effort will be made to promote diversity within each session according to Master, gender, and nationality.
The breakout sessions will be held under Chatham House rules be and be chaired by a PSIA Student.
Call for volunteers - Contribute to the organization of the Summit
We're delighted to invite PSIA students to volunteer to participate in the Summit. All PSIA students are welcome to apply: first year, gap year, second year, and exchange students. Degree-seeking students will be given priority.
Volunteer Roles:
- Speaker
- Panel Presenter
- Speaker's Liaison & Chair of Break-Out Session
- Journalist
- Community Manager
- Artists
Take a look at what it's like to volunteer at YLS! (video credits: Max Doughty; Alessandra Pereira Hermida).
The call for application is now closed.