top of page

A Recap of YPFP’s Road to Y20 Programming

  • Aug 9
  • 4 min read

We're gearing up for the highly anticipated Y20 Summit in Washington, D.C. this August, and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) has been hard at work. We've spent the last few months equipping our Y20 delegates with the insights, research, and policy perspectives they need to succeed on the global stage.


From April to August, we hosted a robust lineup of track-focused programming. This included our expert-led "Road to Y20" virtual event series, as well as a phenomenal showcase of presentations developed by students and academic stars from our summit host, Northeastern University. Here's a look back at the critical conversations and cutting-edge research that shaped our delegates' journey to the summit.



The "Road to Y20" Event Series

Throughout the summer, we hosted specialized virtual sessions aligned with the core Y20 tracks. We brought together seasoned experts and youth leaders to tackle today's most pressing foreign policy challenges.

  • Climate & Energy: On June 2, we kicked things off with From Climate Crisis to Renewable Energy Revolution. Climate scientist and Tidelines Institute Co-Executive Director Zach Brown, PhD, unpacked the 40-year failure to heed scientists' warnings and explored how the current sweep of renewable energy is changing the game.

  • Global Health & Food Security: On June 23, we hosted a pivotal Conversation with Youth Leaders. Y20 Track Co-Chairs Jieru Shi and Andres Pulido joined Act 4 Food youth leader Rehman Hassan to discuss food system resilience, youth-led advocacy, and the intersection of climate and public health.

  • Innovation & Digital Transformation: On June 24, our SF and NYC branches teamed up to host the Y20 Digital Transformation panel. The discussion centered on how organizations are adopting emerging tools, building future-ready operations, and what technological change means for young professionals.

  • Fragility, Conflict & Violence: On July 21, the Fragility Panel featured a virtual fireside chat with Robert Barton, a 20-year USAID veteran. Moderated by U.S. Y20 Delegate Courtney Blankenship, the conversation provided deep insights into development, humanitarian aid, and conflict mitigation in the world's most complex environments.

  • Global Economy & Job Creation: On August 6, we concluded the series with One Continent, One Standard: Harmonizing Plastic Regulation under the AfCFTA. International trade lawyer and Northeastern MPP student Irene Chiaki Korley-Ayerteye made a compelling case for using the African Continental Free Trade Area to unify scattered national plastic bans into a single, youth-led circular economy standard.


Northeastern University Delegate Presentations

A major highlight of our programming was the collaboration with students from Northeastern University. These students spanning public policy, economics, computer science, and engineering developed targeted presentations to brief our Y20 delegates across all five tracks.


You can listen to these presentations in podcast format on our YouTube soon!


Climate & Energy

  • Maxwell Alexander Mozes: MPA student, Director of Political Outreach for the Climate Reality Project's DC chapter, and Union Organizer.

  • Ansumana Swaray: Master of Public Policy student (CSSH).

  • Ethan Jones: Master of Public Policy student.

Food Security & Global Health

  • Ayam Shrestha: M.S. in Applied Quantitative Methods & Social Analysis student (CSSH).

Global Economy & Future of Work

  • Aleemah Williams: Master of Public Policy Candidate at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs.

  • Irene Chiaki Korley-Ayerteye: Master of Public Policy student, international trade lawyer

Innovation & Digital Transformation

  • Uryaswi Bhowmick: Master's in Computer Science student at the Khoury College of Computer Science (Arlington Campus).

  • Muhammad Shabanpour: PhD Candidate in Economics (CSSH).

  • Geraldine Guarin: PhD Candidate in Economics (CSSH).

Peace & Security

  • Olga Skaredina: PhD Candidate in Public Policy.

  • Diane Grant: MS in Engineering and Public Policy, recent alumni, and Global Environmental Governance Technical Lead.


Looking Ahead to the Summit

The hard work, research, and teamwork we've seen over the last five months have truly set our delegates up for success in the negotiations ahead. A huge thank you to all our speakers, the Northeastern University student presenters, and the entire YPFP community for making this programming such a great experience.

About the 2026 Y20 Summit 🌍

As the official youth engagement group of the G20, the Y20 Summit is the only formal channel through which youth voices are integrated into the G20's official agenda. With the United States holding the 2026 G20 Presidency, this year's highly anticipated Y20 Summit will take place in Washington, D.C., from August 10–14, 2026.   


Experience Y20 Week! 🎉

Curious to learn more about the official Y20 communiqué and what happens after the negotiations wrap up? Join us for a full week of Y20 programming, culminating in our closing panel: Y20 Week: From Consensus to Action.

This panel event is a unique opportunity to gain key insights from foreign policy leaders, learn about the delegate experience, and network with fellow young professionals. Together, with high-level policy experts from BPIA and the Kettering Institute, United Nations Foundation, GSIS, and YPFP, we will reflect on the week's intense negotiations, unpack the youth consensus, and explore how to bridge the gap from the Y20 to actionable G20 policy.

  • Date & Time: Friday, August 14, 2026 | 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM EDT

  • Location: Peterson Institute, 1750 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC.








bottom of page