GLOBAL SUMMIT

Amplifying youth leadership and accelerating global action

INTRODUCING

THE GLOBAL LEADERS IMPACT FUND

Alumni of the Global Summit Program can now apply for a new Global Summit Impact fund of $1,000 CAD per project. This funding aims to support transformative projects that drive positive change in communities while aligning with Fora's mission.

Running a microgrant program offers the opportunity for our Global Summit alumni to further invest in and scale up their social impact initiatives. Our investment in their success doesn't stop when the program ends.

Applications are now closed.

Thank you to all who applied! A member of our team will reach out to you soon to let you know about the status of your application.

The Global Summit program is transforming decision-making spaces around the world, one young leader at a time.

For over a decade, Fora’s Global Summit program has been delivering top-tier training, networking, and leadership opportunities that address the social and economic challenges young women and gender-marginalized youth face in local and international communities.

We know decision-making spaces have historically excluded equity-seeking groups.

We also know these barriers are experienced differently in varying contexts and communities around the world. The Global Summit program is designed to address these challenges by bringing young changemakers together to build their capacity to advocate for gender equity and make their voices heard in all spaces where decisions are made! 

Meet the Delegates

WHAT IS THE GLOBAL SUMMIT? 

Each year, 30 international Delegates are selected and connected with the skills, resources, and networks to amplify the reach of their gender equity, advocacy, and social impact initiatives. By bringing together these young changemakers for leadership development, advocacy, policy engagement training, and community-building, the Global Summit program prepares Delegates to advance gender equity and social impact in their communities.  

Delegates will also have the opportunity to develop a Social Impact initiative to create and influence positive social change in their communities, which Fora will support through the guidance of a customized social entrepreneurship curriculum and mentorship.

From founding local non-profit organizations and community projects to advocating at the United Nations and other international forums for policy change, past Global Summit Delegates have gone on to advance gender equity and drive change in their communities around the world (and we know our future Delegates will, too!). Beyond the Summit training, Fora will continue to facilitate connections that empower Delegates to enter spaces of power all over the world to carry forward the voices of young women and everyone navigating gender-based barriers in their communities. 

By investing in these young leaders today, we can shape what spaces of power look like tomorrow.

OUR IMPACT SO FAR 

A behind-view of people seated in a room raising their hands to ask questions.

438 DELEGATES TRAINED

A full room of Global Summit participants seated in lecture-style seating.

13 SUMMITS HOSTED

Two people facing each other in conversation. One person's back is to the camera, and the one facing the camera is mid-laughter.

50 COUNTRIES WITH REPRESENTATIVES

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100+ SOCIAL IMPACT INITIATIVES GLOBALLY

  • “There is something incredibly powerful about being able to stand in the same room as people who share the same hunger for change. It is empowering and transformative.”

    Alice Bruno (she/her)
    2022 Global Summit Delegate — Italy

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Our Global Mentorship Program

Fora’s Global Mentorship Program matches the Global Summit community members with mentors to facilitate a global exchange of knowledge, experiences and skills!

Global Summit Delegates gain increased confidence, new skills, and a like-minded global network to become stronger leaders and more effective advocates in their local and international communities, and for gender equity.  

Through this comprehensive year-long program, Delegates gain: 

WHAT DO GLOBAL SUMMIT DELEGATES GET OUT OF THIS PROGRAM?  

Skills training in advocacy, entrepreneurship, policy engagement & leadership development, through Fora's virtual learning academy and live workshops with exceptional facilitators.

Support and guidance to develop and pitch a social impact initiative, through a customized social entrepreneurship curriculum.

1:1 mentorship and coaching from senior professionals & experienced activists who will invest in delegates’ leadership, advocacy & social entrepreneurship journeys.

Unparalleled opportunities to meaningfully participate in spaces of power and gain access to networks with leaders in politics and civil society.

“My experience as Syria’s Delegate was not only life-changing but actually mindset-changing. This experience introduced me to key elements of leadership and community-building. For under-represented young activists like me, it’s important for organizations like Fora to exist, in order for us not to give up on believing in a better future. The future is ours, and Fora is providing academic and mental support to help us fulfill the equation of effective leadership and build the future we all need.”

— Yara Ghanem (she/her)
2022 Global Summit Delegate — Syria

Applications are now closed 

If you are interested in applying for the next round, please check back with us in Winter 2025.

You could be eligible to apply as a Global Summit Delegate if you are:

  • Between the ages of 18 – 25 (you must be at least 18 years old at the time of application, and no older than 25 years old as of December 31, 2025) 

  • A woman or gender-marginalized youth 

  • Interested in developing a social impact initiative (or amplifying an existing one) to contribute to achieving gender equity in your region  

  • Excited about upskilling your advocacy and leadership, and connecting with a like-minded community of young trailblazers

  • The Global Summit program is open to applicants from all countries. Applicants will apply under their respective Regional Group (Africa, Asia & the Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America & Caribbean States, Western European & Other, and the Indigenous Peoples Group).

See Advocacy Documents from previous cohorts by clicking the button below.

Impact Beyond the Program

Global Summit Delegates also have the opportunity to: 

  • Identify decision-making spaces they want to make their voice heard in: Delegates work with Fora to identify and access spaces of power (including but not limited to the UN Women events, Womens’ Forum panels, Commission on the Status of Women sessions) where they can influence and participate in decision-making

  • Take their learnings back to their communities: Delegates are supported to apply learnings and tools to amplify their ideas and transform leadership in spaces of power in their local and global communities 

  • Be part of Fora’s engaged community of changemakers, who span the globe to share learnings, encouragement, and ideas with one another

Several folks engaging in conversation in front of a whiteboard.

“The Global Summit inspired me to take action! Hearing the stories of fellow Delegates from all over the world, about how they are providing access to resources for young women in STEM, advocating in international organizations, or helping their communities on the ground was a transformational experience. We were brought together as strangers but, somehow, I felt support like never before. It almost made me feel as if it was easy to start taking steps toward starting my own initiative!”

— Cristina Pogorevici (she/her)
2022 Global Summit Delegate – Romania

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Here’s what our application review and interview processes look like:

    • Applications will be open from August until September, 2025.

    • Applications will include the option to submit responses in written, video, or audio format in the English language. Applicants will be able to save a draft of their work before submitting it.

    • Applications will initially be reviewed by an Application Reading Committee.

    • Shortlisted applicants will be invited to 1-2 video interviews between late November and early December. Interviews will be conducted with the Delegate Selection Committee (Ambassadors and Fora community members).

    • All applicants will receive correspondence, regardless of the choice made. Due to the expected high volume of applications, please do not expect to receive individual feedback on your application.

  • Thirty Delegates will be chosen from the pool of applicants, based on demonstrated leadership experience and potential, community engagement, and clear interest in gender equity and social impact.

    Each of the 6 Regional Groups (African Group, Asia & the Pacific Group, Eastern European Group. Latin American and Caribbean States Group, Western European and Other Group, and Indigenous Peoples Group) will be represented.

    To verify your regional group, please refer to our Complete List of Countries by Regional Group.

  • Delegate onboarding begins in December 2025. Over a year-long period, Delegates will engage in virtual workshops, mentorship, networking, and collaboration with other participants and community members online.

  • While we are planning the same great programming as in previous years, the 2024-2025 Global Summit will be entirely virtual.

    Typically, the Global Summit program involves an annual convening where Delegates attend in-person training and a public networking event with other young professionals. However, for the 2025 cohort, all Global Summit program training and activities will be entirely virtual – with no in-person component.

  • This change is taking place in response to the challenging funding landscape across the non-profit sector. To ensure the program could run sustainably throughout 2024-2025 while maintaining the high-quality programming the Global Summit is renowned for, the program model was reviewed and redesigned to account for variances in the economic climate and to provide the flexibility to move the program completely online when necessary – for 2025, this was necessary.

    This gives us the opportunity to make Global Summit programming and training more accessible to more individuals around the world, for whom travel may be challenging. We are excited to make this valuable program more readily available to participants.

    The 2025 Global Summit program will include providing expanded training offerings across all areas of leadership, advocacy, and social impact initiative development, through Fora's virtual learning academy. The virtual program components have been designed to:

    Accommodate Delegates participating from various time zones to ensure engaged participation

    • Allocate more resources towards helping delegates on their social entrepreneurship journeys, and to evaluate the impact of their social impact initiatives

    Provide opportunities for the delegates to meaningfully connect with each other and build lasting networks outside of curriculum learning engagements

    As always, we will monitor the impact of the Global Summit program on an ongoing basis, gather feedback from participants, and ensure this important program continues to evolve to be its most effective and impactful.

Still have questions about participating in the Global Summit program? 
 Read our full FAQ document here. 

If you have a question that hasn’t been answered,
please email programs[at]foranetwork.org 

WANT TO SPONSOR FORA’S GLOBAL SUMMIT PROGRAM?

When you invest in the Global Summit program, you can make a life-changing difference for emerging young leaders around the world, while benefiting from connecting with value-aligned participants, unique international branding & marketing, and employee engagement opportunities.  

Learn how you can sponsor a more equitable future.

Contact us today to learn how you can get involved: 

Marija Shaw 
Senior Manager, Development and Operations 
marija.shaw[at]foranetwork.org