What it is
The AI for Good Global Summit is the United Nations’ yearly conference on artificial intelligence. It is organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency for digital technologies, with more than 50 UN partners, and co-convened by the Government of Switzerland. The first summit was held in Geneva in 2017 with just over 400 participants, according to ITU’s own history. It has stayed in Geneva since, and now fills the Palexpo exhibition centre next to the airport.
The 2026 edition, from 7 to 10 July, ran back-to-back with the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance and alongside the WSIS Forum. Together these events drew more than 12,000 participants from 177 countries, ITU said in its closing press release. That figure covers the whole week, not the summit alone.
How the programme works
The 2027 edition runs from 21 to 24 June and marks ten years of AI for Good. Monday and Tuesday are for exhibitions, networking and curated activities. The summit opens officially on Wednesday 23 June, followed by two days of sessions on several stages and expert-led workshops. The 2026 programme was grouped into themes that included AI policy, AI skills and education, AI for planet, AI and mobility, and AI infrastructure. Competitions such as the Innovation Factory for start-ups and the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge run alongside the talks.
Who goes and how to take part
ITU describes the audience as governments, industry, academia, civil society and the technical community. In 2025, ministers from 100 countries took part, more than half of them from developing countries. Since 2026 the summit charges for passes. The plenary sessions on the Centre Stage are open to Leaders, Gold and Speakers pass holders; the Discovery Pass does not cover them. Under-18s could get a free Discovery Pass and students a 50% discount, both subject to approval, and all sales are final. The 2027 page already invites speaker applications.
What came out of the 2026 edition
The first meeting of the new AI for Good Global Commission, co-chaired by Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, took place during the summit. ITU also announced a Focus Group on Agentic AI, which will work on trusted digital identity and on keeping AI agents accountable.
Why it matters for cities
The summit is about national strategy, standards and UN programmes more than municipal practice. A city official will find most value in the standards and policy sessions and the mobility and skills tracks. For the European policy side, see the Apply AI Summit.
Going, or following from home
Pass prices for 2027 had not been published when we checked. In 2026 the Centre Stage was streamed on the AI for Good Neural Network and on YouTube, so you can follow the plenaries without a pass.