Today, we are announcing that the 2026 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit will be held from June 22-26 in Panama City, Panama, instead of the previously announced dates in March 2026.
We are making this choice to allow organizers a little more time to prepare for what promises to be our most successful Summit yet.
We are also thrilled to share the theme of the 2026 Summit: “The Power of Connection: Reimagining Knowledge, Action and Equity in a Changing SBCC Landscape.” This theme focuses on exploring the evolving landscape of SBCC. It asks participants to critically question and challenge the power structures and relationships that underlie one’s ability to change and prioritizes the voices and leadership of those most directly impacted.
By drawing on the principles of innovation, equity, and transformation, the Summit’s focus will emphasize critical reflection on past practices and collaborative pathways for sustainable and inclusive change.
We have chosen four sub-themes:
- Connection and Relationships: Leading Through Community and Collaboration
- Knowledge and Evidence: Rethinking What Counts and Who Decides
- Action and Impact: Mobilizing Systems for Collective Resilience
- Inclusion and Equity: Communication as a Right, Not a Resource
Connection and Relationships: This sub-theme centers on the power of trust, reciprocity, and collective voice in shaping impactful SBCC programming. It reframes leadership as shared, communication as relational, and change as co-created. Key topics will include localization in action, storytelling and representation and trust and accountability by strengthening systems for collaborative change.
Knowledge and Evidence: This sub-theme challenges conventional notions of evidence, promoting participatory, equitable, and community-centered approaches to knowledge generation and application. It highlights the ethics of collection and use of data, power dynamics of “expertise,” and the potential of innovative participatory research and practice. It will explore how alternative knowledge systems are challenging Western-dominated paradigms.
Action and Impact: This sub-theme explores what action looks like when led by communities, enabled by tech, and embedded in systems. It focuses on adaptability, inclusion, and urgency in the face of complex challenges like the climate crisis, health disparities, and conflict mitigation. Among the goals, to rethink program design by elevating sustainable innovations in the face of disruption and look at how young people are designing and adapting SBCC for social good.
Inclusion and Equity: This sub-theme reframes communication as a right essential to justice and participation. It emphasizes control over one’s information, representation in narratives, equity in access, and policies that protect freedom of expression and media rights. The sub-theme will explore navigating bias and misrepresentation through truth and transparency and democratizing access to, design and use of technology, as well as leveraging storytelling, technology and AI to amplify equity and inclusion instead of reinforcing systemic bias.
In the coming months, the Summit will open abstracts and share other key important logistical news.
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