2025 was a year of breakneck technological progress: advances in large AI models fueled discussions on the arrival of artificial general intelligence while new small and open-source models offered new paths to AI diffusion and adoption. Advances in quantum computing brought the world closer to practical applications of quantum, while digital twins and virtual modeling began to power more serious uses across city planning, manufacturing, and disaster preparedness and resilience.
Even in the midst of systemic shocks, 2025 also witnessed multiple milestone moments in technology policy, with world leaders agreeing to establish a scientific panel and global dialogue on AI, new commitments to strengthen international cooperation to realize the full potential of AI, and the reaffirmation of a multistakeholder approach to internet governance.
2026 will offer a number of promising policy moments for governments, the private sector and civil society to build on this progress with a focus on impact, delivery, and learning across country contexts.
Here are twelve of the most important moments to watch in 2026:
African Union Summit, 11-15 February, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The African Union will hold its 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government, also known as the AU’s annual summit, in February. The convening will serve as a critical milestone after the agreement in 2025 to declare AI a strategic priority. The summit will also be an important opportunity to assess progress and key obstacles in implementing the continent’s AI strategy, which was agreed in 2024 and identifies five priorities, namely harnessing benefits, building capacity, mitigating risks, boosting investment, and fostering regional and international cooperation.
Several continent-wide AI initiatives are fostering new partnerships and supporting inclusive and locally-led AI developments in Africa. These include the AI Hub for Sustainable Development, co-created by the Government of Italy and UNDP, which seeks to accelerate sustainable AI-driven industrial growth in Africa.
India AI Impact Summit, 19-20 February, New Delhi, India
In February, the government of India will host the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, bringing together leaders from government, civil society, the private sector, researchers and others under the banner of “shaping AI for humanity, inclusive growth, and a sustainable future.” The summit will be preceded by more than three hundred pre-summit events and focus on delivering action across seven themes including safe and trusted AI, democratizing AI resources, and AI for economic development and social good.
India’s AI Action Summit is the fourth global AI summit, which began in 2023 in the United Kingdom, and is the first to be held in a developing country. As greater attention turns to the opportunities AI can offer in developing countries, the need to safeguard against potential harms, and the urgency of closing the global AI equity gap, the India AI Impact Summit comes at a crucial moment to deliver new commitments and action.
Global Fraud Summit, 16 – 17 March, Vienna, Austria
In March, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and INTERPOL will host the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, a ministerial level event bringing together officials from government and law enforcement together with international organizations, the private sector, and academia. Meeting under the theme “Together against fraud: Moving from commitment to joint action,” the summit will aim to galvanize action to tackle the growing global scourge of fraud, delivering action against a global call to action against fraud.
Each year, the world loses more than a trillion dollars to scams. But the cost is borne disproportionately by developing countries. While rich countries experience losses amounting to approximately 0.2 percent of GDP, losses in developing countries can reach 3-4 percent of GDP. At a time when developing countries are struggling with historically high debt payments, reduced development assistance, and uncertain economic futures, tackling scams is a pressing development priority. As advances in digital technologies, including AI, are acting as a force multiplier for scammers, they are also presenting new opportunities to detect and defend against scams as part of a whole-of-society approach for improving digital hygiene and security.
Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, 20 – 22 May, Singapore
In May, Singapore will host the Asia Tech x Singapore conference, bringing together leaders from government and the private sector to explore critical digital themes including on AI governance, quantum computing, sustainability, and compute. Crucially, the convening elevates the importance of trust, which underpins inclusive digital transformations, as one of its four pillars.
The conference has become a launchpad for new partnerships and commitments to support safe and inclusive digital economies. At the 2025 Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, the government of Singapore and partners launched a platform bringing together government, research institutions, private sector and others to use Singapore’s Large Language Model – Multimodal Empathic Reasoning and Learning in One Network (MERaLiON) to develop practical AI applications, leveraging the model’s strengthened multilingual processing capabilities.
G7 Summit, 14 – 16 June, Évian-les-Bains, France
In June, France will host the G7 Summit as part of its 2026 G7 presidency, bringing together G7 leaders and select guests in Évian-les-Bains. Technology is expected to take a central position the agenda, building on achievements registered during Canada’s G7 presidency in 2025. These include a Leaders’ Statement on AI for Prosperity, which emphasized the importance of driving innovation and adoption of secure, responsible, and trustworthy AI and committed to expanding partnerships with developing country partners to expand AI access. In 2025, leaders also charted out an AI Adoption Roadmap and agreed to a common vision on quantum technologies.
UN Open-Source Week, 22 – 26 June, New York, United States
In June, the United Nations will host the UN Open-Source Week in New York, organized by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology. The open-source movement is playing an increasingly central role in how some countries are approaching digital transformations, underscoring the importance of bringing together governments, practitioners and open-source builders for discussions on critical open-source issues. In 2025, Open-Source Week featured in-depth discussions on the role of Open-Source Programme Offices in connecting open-source ecosystems and digital public infrastructure.
In addition to giving governments more ownership and control, open-source technologies can also be reused and adapted to meet specific needs and use cases, providing the opportunity to build on proven digital solutions and reducing duplication. The Future of Government Awards recognizes leaders that are building and reusing open-source digital technologies to transform the public sector.
Hamburg Sustainability Conference, 29 – 30 June, Hamburg, Germany
Also in June, Germany will host the third Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC). Launched in 2024, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference brings together leaders from government, industry, civil society, and other sectors to drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2025, partners launched the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs, the first global declaration focused on AI’s role in sustainable development. The Declaration outlines shared principles and commitments to promote the equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development and use of AI globally, with a particular focus on developing countries. In 2026, expect HSC to feature further discussions to drive progress on the Declaration’s ambition and showcase the leaders across sectors who are leveraging AI for sustainable development.
AI for Good Global Summit, 7 – 10 July, Geneva, Switzerland
In July, the AI for Good Global Summit will take place in Geneva, Switzerland. Organized by the International Telecommunications Union together with 50 UN agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland, AI for Good brings together stakeholders to harness AI to tackle global challenges.
In 2026, the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance will also take place during the 2026 AI for Good Summit. The Dialogue, agreed by Member States in 2025, is intended to be an inclusive convening for governments, the private sector, researchers, civil society, and others to come together around the most pressing AI challenges. Co-chaired by the Ambassadors of El Salvador and Estonia, the Dialogue will provide a space for discussions between all countries and stakeholders on challenges, opportunities, and potential areas for cooperation. Also expected in 2026 is the launch of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, which was also agreed by Member States in 2025, and which will play an important contributing role to the Dialogue.
UN General Assembly High-level Week, 21 – 25 September, New York, United States
Each September, world leaders convene in New York for the UN General Assembly High-level Week. As in past years, it is likely that digital will be high on the agenda both in the high-level debate as well as across the side event calendar. This year will mark the second anniversary of the agreement of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) as an annex to the Pact for the Future, a forward-looking agreement to make international institutions and multilateralism more future-ready and resilient, so high-level week will provide an important opportunity to check in on progress in implementing the GDC.
In addition to statements by world leaders, expect the week to serve as a platform for the announcement of new commitments and partnerships to drive progress on sustainable development with digital technologies. The Digital@UNGA initiative co-organized by UNDP and the International Telecommunications Union is a multistakeholder convening initially launched in 2023. In 2025, its affiliates programme brought together more than 45 digital-themed events throughout the week to increase ambition and accelerate progress.
UN World Data Forum, 9 – 12 November, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
In November, Saudi Arabia will host the sixth UN World Data Forum, bringing together leaders from government, the private sector, civil society, and academia to drive the use of data to spur SDG progress, address data challenges, and mobilize high-level political support for data. From its first convening in Cape Town, South Africa, to its most recent edition in Medellin, Colombia, the World Data Forum has grown from two thousand to twenty thousand engaged stakeholders, reflecting the growing importance of data and statistics to inform policy and support inclusive digital transformations, among other development objectives.
Internet Governance Forum, Date and Location TBD
The twenty-first Internet Governance Forum will take place in 2026. Although the timing and location are not yet known, what is clear is that this will be a significant moment for internet governance and digital cooperation. In December 2025, as part of the 20-year WSIS review, member states agreed to make the Internet Governance Forum a permanent forum of the United Nations, recognizing the important role it plays in bringing together stakeholders on the most important and emerging internet governance questions, building on the insights of 170 national, regional and youth Internet governance forums.
The 2026 convening will be an important moment to chart out how to ambitiously realize the mandate provided by member states while also building on 2025 discussions focused on digital inclusion, meaningful connectivity, AI and emerging technologies, human rights online, and cybersecurity.
Global DPI Summit, Date and Location TBD
The third annual Global Digital Public Infrastructure Summit will also take place in 2026. Though the time and location are yet to be determined, just in its third year the Global DPI Summit has already become a critical convening for bringing together stakeholders who are advancing DPI for cross-sector learning, elevating DPI leadership, and generating new momentum for the power of DPI in supporting inclusive digital transformations and scaling of government services. The 2025 convening brought together more than 1,300 DPI leaders from more than 100 countries in Cape Town, South Africa. Several issues are likely to feature prominently in the 2026 summit, including DPI safeguards to ensure safe and inclusive DPI, the evolving relationship between DPI and AI, and financing DPI implementation.
