Global Town Hall is an annual virtual marathon of global dialogue that brings together world leaders and leading minds to discuss major global issues. It provides an open, inclusive platform where decision-makers, thinkers, civil society leaders, and the broader public can engage in timely, solution-driven conversations. The event connects local concerns with global discussions and elevates diverse perspectives.
Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) convenes Global Town Hall in collaboration with a consortium of respected think tanks, universities, civil society organizations, and international institutions. Since its launch in 2020, it has evolved into one of the most inclusive international policy forums of its kind. Previous editions have drawn over 50,000 participants from more than 160 countries, including heads of state, foreign ministers, UN officials, civil society leaders, academics, and youth representatives.
The theme of this year’s Global Town Hall is “Calling for a Global U-Turn: Recentering Development, Reclaiming Humanity, Restoring Justice in a Crazi(er) World,” which reflects our growing concern that the international system is drifting away from the principles that have long underpinned global peace and cooperation. Today, we are witnessing the erosion of the rules-based international order, the increasing use of force to resolve disputes, the multiplication of armed conflicts, the weakening of respect for international humanitarian law, widening geopolitical fragmentation, and the loss of momentum toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Amid these worrying trends, we are seeing few signs that things will improve in the near future.
Yet, we do believe that civil societies across the world will now play an increasingly important role in helping to turn the tide towards a global u-turn in world affairs, one that recommits to the principles of the U.N. Charter, and recenters development, justice, and humanity at the heart of international affairs.
SESSION AGENDA
Opening Plenary
Calling for a Global U-Turn: Recentering Development, Reclaiming Humanity, Restoring Justice in a Crazi(er) World
Founder and Chairman of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI)
President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Session 1
The State of the World 2026: Preparing for the Next World Order
Former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore
Chairman & Co-Founder of The Asia Group
Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) and a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University
Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy Magazine
Session 2
Reality Check: How to Live in the Age of Mass Manipulation and Deception
Founder of the World For All Foundation; Ambassador of South Africa to the United States (2010 - 2015, 2025)
Founder and Director of Thinking The Unthinkable; Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London; Main Presenter of BBC World News (1996-2014)
Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran
Independent Journalist
Session 3
Green Lights, Red Lines: How Far Should We Let AI Go?
Head of Government Partnership & Public Policy Across EMEA at Zscaler; Digital Ambassador of Denmark to Silicon Valley (2017–2020)
National Security Policy Lead – Asia Pacific at OpenAI
Chief Strategy and Design AI Officer; Director of Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
Executive Director of the International Center for Cyberspace Law; Senior Adviser to the United Nations on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime
Keris & Silicon Podcast Host
Session 4
From Aspiration to Reality: Prospects and Challenges for Palestinian Independence and Statehood
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine
Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia (2004–2009, 2014–2019)
High Representative for Gaza – Board of Peace
President of the U.S. / Middle East Project (USMEP)
President of Al Sharq Forum
Professor of Practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Session 5
A Renewed North-South Dialogue and Cooperation for the 21st Century: Why It Crashed in the Past and How to Make It Work This Time
President of Costa Rica (2010–2014); President of Club de Madrid
President of Slovenia (2007-2012); Member of Club de Madrid
Secretary General of Club de Madrid
Session 6
More Ploughshares, Less Swords: Choosing Development and SDGs over Armaments
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF)
Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation; Papua New Guinea’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (2011-2022)
James Anderson Professor of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); Founder of the Paris Peace Forum (PPF)
Session 7
No Justice, No Humanity = No Peace
Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School
General Director at the Netherlands Institute for International Relations Clingendael
Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House; Co-Director of Global Orders Programme at the University of Oxford
Session 8
The United Nations We Need
President of Peru (2020–2021); Member of Club de Madrid
Candidate for the UN Secretary-General; Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (On Leave)
Executive Director of Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN)
Senior Advisor of Global Governance Innovation Network
Lead Next Generation Fellow, United Nations Foundation
Senior Anchor and Director, CNN Indonesia
Initiator and Organizer
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