The UNGA 81 Dialogues
Each September, New York becomes the center of gravity for global decision-making. For one week, heads of state, ministers, multilateral leaders, and the institutions that move capital and policy are in the same city, at the same time, asking the same question: what comes next for the UN SDGs?
UNGA 81 convenes as the world recalibrates across education, health, philanthropy, and innovation, the systems that define our shared future are being rewritten in real time. The mandates are shifting, the financing is contested, and the leaders who set the agenda are all in one place.
That is the moment Signals House, using our Signals methodology, is built for. We convene on the eve of the General Debate to turn the week’s urgency into something durable: the signals that will shape our collective future and the Signal Briefs that carry them into the rooms where decisions are made.
SIGNALS HOUSE is where the world’s most discerning leaders convene. A rooftop oasis in a busy city, two blocks from the UN Headquarters.
SIGNAL SALONS are how we do it: a constellation of high-level convenings, spanning Diplomacy, Education, Healthcare, Philanthropy, and Innovation, culminating in an invitation only Diplomatic Soirée.
SIGNAL BRIEFS. What sets us apart is what we leave behind. Every event produces a Signal Brief distributed to the most consequential audiences in the world.
UNGA 81 Delegation
Ana C. Rold
CEO & Founder, Diplomatic Courier & World in 2050
Jane Mann
Chief Education Officer, Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Dr. Vicki Phillips
CEO, National Center on Education and the Economy
Daniella Foster
Senior Vice President & Global Head, Public Affairs, Market Access & Sustainability, Bayer
Dr. Bernard M. Doro
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Zoya K.
Youth Ambassador, Transforming Global Education
John Goodwin
Board Director and Strategic Advisor
Anthony Mackay
Board Chair, National Center on Education and the Economy
Chris Purifoy
CEO & Co-Founder, Learning Economy Foundation
Judit Arenas
Executive Director, Office of the Chair, APCO
Dr. Carol O'Donnell
Director, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Sarah Howard
Managing Director, Global Philanthropy Forum
Dr. Asyia Kasmi
CEO, WISE-Qatar Foundation
Dr. Jess Conser
Client Partner, Human & AI Transformation, Korn Ferry
Dr. Anna Kingsley
Head of Partnerships, Education Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Dr. Kimberly Scott
Professor, Arizona State University
Aashna P.
Young Ambassador, Transforming Global Education
Kymberly Lavigne-Hinkley
Senior Director, Workforce Innovation & Systems Integration, Goodwill Industries International
Sergio Fernandez de Cordova
Executive Chairman, PVBLIC Foundation
Dr. Alison Bryant
COO, Learning Economy Foundation
Mario Vasilescu
CEO & Co-Founder, Readocracy
Pamela Kelley Lauder
COO, Diplomatic Courier
Blair Glencorse
Co-CEO, Accountability Lab
Diana Krogh
Executive Advisor, Learning Economy Foundation
Manjula Dissanayake
Founding Executive Director, Educate Lanka Foundation
Anatoly Motkin
President, StrategEast Center for a New Economy
Nisaa Jetha
CEO, Creative Economy Institute
Patricia Guillamon
Partnerships & Marketing Manager, Diplomatic Courier
Dr. A.J. Ernst
Professor & Education Strategist, Rowan University
Dr. Tracey Burns
Chief, Global Strategy & Research, National Center on Education and the Economy
The Audience
Across all events, participants share one characteristic:
They hold meaningful authority over the decisions that shape their sectors.
Policy & Diplomacy
Ministers, senior officials, ambassadors, and representatives of multilateral institution.
Philanthropy
Major foundation presidents, program directors, impact investors and next-gen donors.
Tech & Innovation
Senior executives and innovators at the frontier of AI, Blockchain and Quantum.
Private Sector & Finance
C-suite executives from education, healthcare, financial, and service sectors.
Academia & Research
Leading scholars, researchers and think tank leaders shaping the intellectual agenda.
Civil Society & Media
Civil society, senior journalists, and advocacy executives working at the global policy frontier.
Programming Partners
The Agenda
21-22 September 2026
Education
Read more
Defining the New Foundational Literacies: the civic, digital, scientific, and systems-thinking capabilities essential for the 21st century.
Healthcare
Read more
Exploring health tech, prevention and self-care, and the architecture of health systems built for the future.
Philanthropy
Read more
The largest wealth transfer in history is underway. The next generation of donors has different values, different tools, and different expectations.
Diplomacy
Read more
An invitation-only rooftop celebration on the opening evening of UNGA 81, marking twenty years of Diplomatic Courier.
Events in this Series
More About the 2026 Dialogues Series
