Georgetown Humanities at the 2026 Georgetown Global Dialogues in Barcelona
From March 28-30, 2026, the Georgetown Global Dialogues (co-organized by Vice President for Global Engagement Prof. Tom Banchoff and essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra) returned to Spain for three days of discussions on Futures for Hope in a Broken World, hosted by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona.
Our global future feels increasingly precarious, threatened by climate disruption, pandemics, runaway AI, and nuclear conflict. This danger is amplified by traditional power politics, which stymie the international cooperation needed to address shared global crises. Without a structural pivot, civilization risks environmental collapse, technological subjugation, and catastrophic war.
The convening asked what change of direction might be possible and where our hopes lie. To actively shape our future rather than passively awaiting disaster, humanity must build resilient societies rooted in ethical foresight, mobilize local communities, democratize technology, and demand transnational accountability. The future remains an open project that we still possess the agency to construct.
As a Georgetown Global Dialogues partner, Georgetown Humanities contributed to the event organization and Inaugural Director Nicoletta Pireddu participated in the panel “AI and the Changing Understanding of Humanity,” together with Mohsin Hamid, Kohei Saito, and Paul Elie.
The videos from the 2026 Barcelona event can be accessed by session on the Georgetown Global Dialogues website or on the GGD YouTube channel.
To learn more about the Georgetown Global Dialogues, visit the overview page and explore event videos, webinars, essays, and profiles of the GGD fellows.