Updates on 2026 Summit Location and Dates

It is with great excitement that we announce that the fourth International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit will be held from March 23-27, 2026, at the Panama Convention Center in Panama City.

After successful events in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Morocco, we thought it was essential to convene the SBCC community in the Latin America and Caribbean Region – a region with a rich history of SBCC programs and a growing cadre of young professionals. Panama City is welcoming us with open arms and is committed to ensuring maximum participation from attendees from around the world.

The currently eight-member Secretariat, charged with planning what promises to be an inspiring and informative event in 2026, is chaired jointly by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs and the Nigeria-based Centre for Communication and Social Impact.

We are pleased to introduce the members of the 2026 Summit Secretariat:

Plans are ongoing to include an organization from Panama, our host country. Details on that to come.

And, of course, we could not have an event of this size without the support of our International Steering Committee. We chose this group through an intentional process designed to ensure a great diversity of voices, expertise, and experiences will contribute to making the 2026 Summit the most inclusive and successful yet.

This announcement is just the beginning of our journey to 2026. The Summit promises to be a wonderful week of learning and collaboration, of seeing old friends and making new connections to strengthen the ever-growing field of SBCC.

Please be sure to sign up to our mailing list to get the latest updates, including information about abstracts, registration and logistics. Meanwhile, we are thrilled that the planning process has begun in earnest with our strong slate of partners.

We look forward to seeing you in Panama.

Cordially,

Debora B. Freitas López and Babafunke Fagbemi