Young Humanitarian Summit 2026

Director of International Law, Policy and Archives at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva.

Humanitarian, Former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Professor at Harvard University and former US Ambassador to the UN

President & CEO of Interpeace

Deputy Director General, Ambassador, Head of Humanitarian Aid and SHA Division

Personal Branding & Corporate Influencing Strategist, One Young World Ambassador

Executive Director, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

Peace Ambassador, Storyteller, Founder of “Waves to Home”

Director of the Geneva Conventions’ World Tour

Head of Swiss Radio SRF Foreign Desk

Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for the L’Oréal Group

Journalist at ZDF

Co-Founder and President, Circle of Young Humanitarians (CYH), Course Initiator, HSG

Assistant Professor of Architecture

Deputy General Director, External Affairs, at MSF Operational Centre Geneva (OCG)

Elea Professor for Social Innovation at IMD

LCDR, Naval Warfare Officer, Legal Officer with the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces

ICRC and the Committee for the Jean Pictet Competition – Marie-Louise Tougas and Ana Urgoiti 

In-person

International Humanitarian Law plays a crucial role in regulating the conduct of hostilities and preserving a minimum of humanity during armed conflict. By limiting means and methods of warfare and protecting civilians and those hors de combat, it provides essential safeguards even in the most challenging circumstances. This simulation offers participants an immersive, practical introduction to the application of IHL through dynamic, scenariobased exercises. Building on the long-standing legacy of the JeanPictet Competition, it deepens participants’ understanding of IHL’s principles and their relevance in realworld operational contexts. 

Dr. Daniel Trusilo, Collegium Fellow, University of St. Gallen, and former USAID Humanitarian Advisor

In-person

We are at an inflection point for humanitarian diplomacy and modern warfare. Namely, both the global humanitarian community and modern militaries have arrived at a point when a basic universal mechanism for humanitarian notification is feasible and necessary. Through a group-based simulation and discussion, this workshop will explore challenges and opportunities to improving humanitarian notification systems. 

Médecins Sans Frontières - Maelle L’Homme 

In-person

On one hand, MSF has a history of very tangible relationships with social movements and has sometimes recruited individuals specifically for their activist status; on the other, there is also a form of initial reluctance to get involved in political dynamics that go beyond the organization’s scope of intervention. How do organizations like MSF establish roots within the societies or communities with or for whom they work? What does this imply? And what are the limits?

Bublu Thakur-Weigold, INSEAD HRG

In-person

In this workshop,  you will apply a proven innovation method to address a urgent problem faced by the humanitarian sector. Your team will be challenged to come up with new sources of funding for humanitarian aid, together with mechanisms beyond classic fundraising. Drawing on the collective intelligence and managerial experience of the group, you will evaluate the consequences of new pathways in pursuit of sustainable financial participation in global development and emergency response.  

Waves to Home, Zoya Miari

In-person

What happens when humanitarian action begins with the human story? In this interactive workshop, participants will explore their personal story as a foundation for meaningful action. Through visual storytelling and collective reflection, we connect who we are, what shaped us, to the impact we want to create. This workshop invites you to move from story to action, without losing the human in humanitarianism.

Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiations (CCHN)

In-person

Step into the world of high-stakes humanitarian negotiation through an immersive, hands-on simulation that mirrors real field realities. Participants will tackle complex access challenges, engage tough counterparts, and make critical decisions under pressure in a safe but demanding learning environment. Blending theory, role-play, and expert facilitation, the workshop sharpens negotiation instincts, strategic thinking, and de-escalation skills. It is a dynamic experience designed to shed the light on humanitarian challenges in volatile environment. 

Arno Tanner, Europe Cares

Online

Arno Tanner is a humanitarian aid worker with several years of experience in medical and community-based projects at Europe’s external borders in Greece, as well as in search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean. In this workshop, he will share first-hand stories from camps, clinics, and rescue missions, showing what life is really like for people on the move and how the role of the Rule of Law is or is not applied. Participants will learn about the daily realities of border violence, restricted access to aid, and the challenges faced by those who try to help. Through these concrete examples, the session highlights the human impact of Europe’s borders beyond headlines. It concludes with practical ways for young people to get informed, engaged, and take meaningful action. 

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

In-person

This interactive workshop will explore how, amid conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks, risk-informed resilience in agrifood systems is essential to effective humanitarian response. The session will highlight lessons from FAO and partners on using agricultural interventions to strengthen youth agency, self-reliance, and resilience in crisis settings. Through keynote speakers, mixed practitioner–youth working groups, and sharing experiences and best practices, the workshop will explore strategies to better engage youth in agrifood systems prior, during and post- emergencies. It will also feed into a broader consultative process including the World Food Forum (WFF) Youth Assembly and FAO to ensure youth perspectives inform policy and decision-making. 

Michelle Eglin, Founding President, SparkX Foundation

Online

This SparkX Dreamscape invites participants into the collective inner world shaping humanitarian action. The session explores the dynamics below the surface that both propel and sabotage change. Through guided reflection, symbolic imagery, and collective sense-making, participants attend to the unconscious forces influencing our shared humanity and the role of the humanitarian within it. The space privileges reflection and insight over problem-solving.

Catherine McDonald 

Online

This workshop explores how corporations can engage in humanitarian issues, through the practices of corporate diplomacy and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Participants will be encouraged to think critically about the roles and responsibilities of corporations in conflict affected settings and how they can contribute as a force for good. Following the workshop, participants will leave with an understanding of how firms currently engage in humanitarian issues, their responsibilities in such settings, and a ‘toolkit’ of skills that can help them navigate corporate engagement in complex or conflict affected settings.

Max Morel, ETH NADEL

Online

Through interactive exercises and provocative discussions, participants will learn about key characteristics and trends in humanitarian information environments and develop ideas of what humanitarian actors – and their supporters around the world – can do to limit potentially harmful information and promote facts. 

Caring4YoungCarers - Natasha Hunziker and Sophia Hunziker

Online

Did you know that around 10% of young people in Switzerland — over 180,000 — care for a family member?  That’s 1–2 students per classroom. These young people are called young carers. Young carers support a family member with a physical or mental illness, addiction, or disability, often silently. Most are unaware of their situation and receive little to no support, affecting their education, wellbeing, and future. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn who young carers are, how to recognise young carers, understand why their invisibility is a social and humanitarian issue, and explore practical ways to support them. 

Francesca Ruzzetta, University College London

Online

How can culture become a bridge between local and displaced communities? Drawing on firsthand research with displaced people in Lesbos (Greece) and Lampedusa (Italy), Francesca will explores how cultural activities can challenge stereotypes, foster connection, and strengthen social cohesion. The workshop will then shift from insight to action, inviting participants to collaboratively design their own cultural initiatives—practical, creative tools for building meaningful relationships between local and displaced communities.