The World Today

Event Date: 27th August 2026
Location: Online. 5:00 - 6:00pm BST

The World Today
Thursday, August 27, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Hybrid Event

Welcome back to Penn for the 2026-2027 school year, which is also the 10th anniversary of Perry World House!

Please join us for our first public event of the year, focused on the most important challenges facing the world today. From conflict to climate change, Perry World House’s leadership will unpack the issues and opportunities expected to impact global policy this year.

International security will continue to be a top priority, as countries respond to the ongoing war in Ukraine, a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, continued strife in Iran, and enduring conflicts in every region. Great power rivalry, fracturing international coalitions, and a transactional approach to foreign policy have all helped weaponize the building blocks of cooperation from the last generation, turning them into potential vulnerabilities. These questions impact chokepoints, energy infrastructure, and frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Democracy will also take center stage this year, as billions head to the polls. This fall, key contests in Brazil, Israel, and, of course, here in the United States will test the health of democracy worldwide. The United Nations, too, will elect new leadership, with the next Secretary-General tasked with reviving confidence in a multilateral system beset by financial and legitimacy crises. Meanwhile, the human rights and global justice agenda faces increasing contention, and the Earth’s climate continues to change in ways that create peril around the world.

Join us for this special event to gain a deeper understanding of the critical issues shaping our world, and to explore how we might respond.