Jakarta. The Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), together with a global consortium of think tanks, universities, civil society organizations, and international institutions, convened the seventh edition of Global Town Hall on Saturday, 19 September 2026.

This year, more than 8,300 participants from over 120 countries registered to attend and share their perspectives at the global forum. The Indonesian-initiated, people-to-people global forum brought together government leaders, civil society representatives, grassroots advocates, private-sector representatives, and young changemakers for a full day of discussions on the world’s most pressing challenges.

Global Town Hall is an independent and open platform that aims to connect civil society organizations from around the world and engage them in meaningful discussions on issues that affect people’s daily lives. It is a genuine people-to-people platform and a dialogue of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Setting the tone for Global Town Hall 2026, Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Founder and Chairman of FPCI, shared a compelling call to action for the global community amid what he described as a deterioration of respect for international law. In his words:

“We feel the world is going in the wrong direction. Rules and international law are easily trampled. Force is increasingly used to determine outcomes […] The UN Charter is in danger of becoming irrelevant. We have the largest number of conflicts since World War II – 65 conflicts across 35 countries last year […] This is not the kind of world we want to live in. Not the kind of world we want our children and future generations to live in. We want them to live in a world enshrined in the UN Charter.”

Carrying the theme “Calling for a Global U-Turn: Recentering Development, Reclaiming Humanity, Restoring Justice in a Crazi(er) World,” the 2026 Global Town Hall reflected growing concern that the international system is drifting away from the principles that have long underpinned global peace and cooperation.

Amid these worrying trends, FPCI believes civil society organizations around the world will 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 UN Charter and recentres development, justice, and humanity at the heart of international affairs.

That is why the 2026 Global Town Hall brought together leading voices from around the world for honest, solution-driven conversations on the state of global affairs. The forum aimed to connect East, West, North, and South, while elevating the perspectives of citizens and communities whose voices must shape national and multilateral decisions.

Referring to the forum’s overarching theme, Dr. Dino Patti Djalal emphasized the importance of a global U-turn:

“This is why we need a U-turn in world affairs. We need to recenter development, restore justice, and reclaim humanity at the heart of international relations. They want to live in peace, not fear; they want to live in respect, not surrounded by hate; they want to hope, not lose hope; a brighter future, not a darker future; they want progress, not regression; they want opportunity, not exclusion; and above all, they want human dignity for all, as the framers of the UN Charter promised us.”

In one of the keynote speeches, H.E. Micheál Martin, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, outlined key principles of international development, human rights, and global solidarity related to this year’s Global Town Hall:

“Addressing the enduring challenge of poverty is essential. Without a clear focus on poverty, development efforts risk cementing global and national inequalities and fostering instability and insecurity. The development we want to promote must be inclusive, resilient, and environmentally sustainable, with benefits distributed fairly across society. Reclaiming our humanity entails defending universal principles: human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and civic space. Ireland has always reaffirmed the universality of these principles, which apply in all parts of the world—in Ireland, in Indonesia, and just as much in Sudan, in Myanmar, and in Palestine. Ireland has always been clear about this, and we will continue to act in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Ireland's own history as a country affected by colonialism and hunger teaches us the importance of solidarity and of development cooperation. Development succeeds not when it is done for people. But when it is shaped with people.”

H.E. Dr. Varsen Aghbekian Shanin, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, raised an important question about the credibility of the international system in her keynote address:

“The question of Palestine has become a test of the credibility of the international system itself: whether international law is truly universal, whether justice is applied equally, and whether the rights of peoples can be protected when confronted by prolonged occupation, unlawful policies, and impunity. For decades and decades, we have been under a lot of pressure, under a lot of pain, and we have been struggling with occupation […] For Palestinians, statehood is not an abstract diplomatic aspiration, nor is it a reward to be granted at the end of an indefinite political process.”

This year’s Global Town Hall presented a series of high-level discussions addressing the world’s most urgent geopolitical, social, and moral challenges. The program featured sessions such as:

1. The State of the World 2026: Preparing for the Next World Order
2. Reality Check: How to Live in the Age of Mass Manipulation and Deception
3. Green Lights, Red Lines: How Far Should We Let AI Go?
4. From Aspiration to Reality: Prospects and Challenges for Palestinian Independence and Statehood
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
6. More Ploughshares, Less Swords: Choosing Development and SDGs over Armaments
7. No Justice, No Humanity = No Peace
8. The United Nations We Need

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