Close
The 2026 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit comes at a crucial moment for our field.
As the funding landscape dramatically changes and crises intensify around the world on an unprecedented scale – from climate change and extreme weather events to mass displacement and humanitarian emergencies, to rising inequality, violence, and declining mental health – we are being called not only to respond, but to reimagine how we do our work.
Our evidence-based approaches have long delivered impact across health, education, gender equity, and beyond—improving the lives of individuals and communities worldwide. Yet the systems in which we operate are evolving, and the way we design and deliver SBCC will continue to change.
This moment calls for approaches that are community-driven, equity-centered, locally sustained, and bold enough to challenge entrenched power dynamics.
As an accepted presenter, we invite you to reflect this moment in your session. Your presentation should not only share knowledge, but also spark dialogue, elevate diverse perspectives, and contribute to shaping the future of SBCC.
Your session should align with the Summit theme and sub-themes, and aim to:
Inspired by the Panama Canal’s history as a connector of worlds and Panama’s role as a hub for cultural diversity and commerce, the 2026 Summit 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 theme emphasizes critical reflection on past practices and collaborative pathways for sustainable and inclusive change.
Reclaiming power, dismantling hierarchies, and sparking systemic change from the ground up.
This sub-theme challenges conventional notions of evidence by 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.
Key Topics:
How alternative knowledge systems are challenging Western-dominated paradigms of truth, rigor, and value.
Rethinking program design by elevating sustainable innovations in the face of disruption.
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.
Key Topics:
Leveraging storytelling, technology and AI to amplify equity and inclusion instead of reinforcing systemic bias.
Individual presentations highlight programmatic best practices, lessons learned, and/or research findings that advance SBCC. Presentations should reflect strong evidence and/or experiential knowledge from the field, clearly communicate program or research approaches, and present well-documented results.
Oral presentations will be organized into panels of 3–4 presentations based on shared themes, approaches, or areas of focus.
Poster presentations will be displayed digitally in a designated exhibition space during scheduled times throughout the Summit.
Preformed panels consist of 3–4 related presentations organized around a shared issue, topic, challenge, or question. Panels should offer insights that go beyond individual contributions and demonstrate how the presentations collectively contribute to a broader understanding of the topic.
Presentations may draw from different programs or research initiatives, but should clearly demonstrate how they relate to one another and contribute to shared insights.
Panels may address conceptual, political, practical, or research issues that push boundaries or offer new perspectives in SBCC, including areas that may lead to new directions for program practice, policy, theory, or research.
Presenters are encouraged to consider session formats that support audience engagement and exchange, such as interactive discussions or other participatory approaches.
Note: Panels primarily focused on skills-building should be submitted under the Skills-Building Workshop format.
Multimedia sessions feature SBCC-related media products or materials, including entertainment education and formats such as film, television, social media videos, mobile platforms, music, radio, animation, comics, transmedia, podcasts, virtual reality, interactive websites, and others. Live performances or theater may also be included.
These sessions provide an opportunity to view, listen to, and engage with multimedia work used in SBCC programs.
Important:
Works longer than 7 minutes must be edited for presentation
Skills-building workshops are two-hour interactive sessions designed to develop or strengthen specific SBCC skills. These may focus on areas including, but not limited to, research, monitoring and evaluation, learning, communication channels, advocacy, program planning and design, program implementation, and relevant theories and approaches.
Workshops should be structured to support high levels of audience engagement and learning. Presenters are encouraged to incorporate interactive approaches such as experiential learning and group work.
Modeled on oral storytelling traditions, these concise, narrative-style presentations invite speakers to share a surprising but well-formed idea, powerful experience or insight, or bold new perspective.
Presentations should challenge conventional wisdom, provoke fresh thinking, or spark new directions in SBCC, and demonstrate originality, a clear narrative, and relevance to the Summit theme and sub-themes.
Presentations will be grouped by conference theme.
Failure often provides some of the greatest insights into how SBCC programs and research can improve, yet these lessons are rarely shared. These 10-minute presentations create space to focus on what did not work, why it mattered, and how those experiences led to growth and learning.
By normalizing discussion of failure, these sessions aim to help the field avoid repeating mistakes, encourage honest reflection, and support innovation through collective learning.
Presentations should clearly highlight the relevance of the failure to SBCC practice or research, the depth of reflection, and the clarity of lessons learned.
Abstracts will be submitted online and may be written in the four main conference languages of English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish. Webinars will be available in the four main conference languages to help submitters prepare their abstracts. Look for further notice about these webinars soon on the Summit website.
In selecting abstracts for the Summit program, the Program Subcommittee will take the following general criteria into consideration:
Submitters are encouraged to think creatively about how their abstracts can best engage Summit participants to think critically, share knowledge and experience, and shape the future of SBCC.
Multiple abstract submissions are welcome. However, to achieve the broadest possible representation and participation in the Summit, no more than two submissions from the same lead author or session organizer will be selected.
As we prepare to gather in 2026, we look forward to your stories, insights, evidence, and visions for the future of SBC. Together, let’s connect across disciplines, geographies, and generations to build a more just and sustainable world.
© Johns Hopkins University – All rights reserved
