This page will be updated as speakers and panelists are confirmed. GEM26's opening reflections, keynote address, and panel discussions will be live-streamed. Prepare for the conference by tuning in to our Road to GEM events, podcasts, and articles featuring conversations with leaders on the front lines of global development.
GEM26: Reimagining International Development will convene leading thinkers and practitioners from public policy, business, academia, philanthropy, and civil society to explore how these seismic changes redefine what “development” can and should mean in the coming decades.
May 4, 2026 - A New Global Economic Transformation Imperative
(Led by the Reimagining the Economy Project)
All programming will be held at Harvard Kennedy School.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm - GEM26 Welcome by Gordon Hanson and Dani Rodrik
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm - Workshop: "Skipping the Factory: Service-Led Growth and Structural Transformation in the Developing World"
3:00 pm – 4:15 pm - Panel 1: "Transforming the Global Economy: Quality Work, Just Transitions, and Shared Prosperity"
4:30 pm – 5:45 pm - Panel 2: "Orchestrating Economic Transformation: From Local Experiments to National Strategy"
May 5, 2026 - Reimagining International Development
All programming will be held at Harvard Kennedy School.
8:15 am - Breakfast and Registration
9:00 am - Opening Reflections from Harvard Leadership and Keynote Address
9:45 am - Panel One
11:00 am - Coffee Break
11:20 am – Panel Two
1:00 pm - Networking Lunch
2:00 pm - GEM Incubation Rooms
The incubation rooms during GEM26 will generate and explore early-stage collaborations between public and private sector leaders and be led by Harvard faculty in collaboration with leading practitioners.
Following the networking lunch, GEM26 will divide participants into smaller groups that will participate in GEM Incubation Rooms focused on one of several pressing topics. These “research-meets-practice" working sessions will explore early-stage ideas, encouraging participants to consider how cutting-edge research can address pressing problems and reimagine the boundaries of knowledge and action. Participants will be encouraged to develop collaborations that they would subsequently submit to the GEM Incubation Fund for seed funding.
5:00 pm - Closing Reflection and Reception
Guests are encouraged to continue conversations with new colleagues and friends over self-organized dinners in Harvard Square or greater Boston.