Y20 Reception
Fostering Exchange and Connection
Celebrating a continued commitment to rising generations around the world, the Aspen Institute International Partners welcomed the 2026 Y20 delegates to the Institute’s DC headquarters for an evening celebrating a simple yet powerful idea: the future is stronger when rising leaders are able to shape it together.
Hosted in collaboration with Globally and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), the reception brought together representatives from G20 countries, Aspen Institute leaders, and International Partners network members for an evening of exchange and connection.
Amidst the backdrop of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the gathering offered a timely reminder of what is possible when people come together across borders with openness and shared purpose.
The future of global leadership depends not only on who has a seat at the table, but on who has the agency to shape decision making.
The Y20: A Global Platform for Rising Leaders
The Y20 is the official youth engagement group of the G20, bringing together young leaders each year in the host country of the G20.
The 2026 Y20 delegates represent a generation committed to tackling some of the most urgent challenges facing their societies, and to building stronger cross-border relationships in the process.
During the summit, delegates drafted recommendations across five tracks: Global Economy & Job Creation; Energy; Innovation & Digital Transformation; Fragility, Conflict & Violence; and Food Security & Global Health.
These tracks closely align with the work of the Aspen Institute — from policy and international engagement to efforts that elevate rising generations and expand opportunity around the world.
A Shared Commitment to Global Partnership
The reception began with welcoming remarks from Maria Acebal, Interim President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, who underscored the importance of cross-border partnership and reflected on the Institute’s longstanding global reach.
Aubrey Cox Ottenstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Globally, followed by sharing how Globally brings young leaders together across cultures and borders, especially through its role stewarding the 2026 Y20 Summit. For Ottenstein, the evening also represented a personal connection to the Institute, drawing on her own experiences with Institut Aspen France and how those experiences have informed her approach to leadership and global engagement.
Together, the opening remarks set a powerful tone for the evening: global challenges demand global relationships, and those relationships are built through meaningful dialogue.
The evening continued with a conversation featuring leaders from across the Aspen Institute, who explored how their work supports rising generations and connects with the priorities at the heart of the Y20.
The panel featured Greg Gershuny, Vice President and Executive Director of the Energy and Environment Program; Zeina Shuhaibar, Deputy Director of the Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN); and Erin Borġ (Thiemann), Associate Director of Inclusive Financial Systems at the Financial Security Program. The discussion was moderated by Jonathon Price, Vice President and Executive Director of Aspen International Partners.
Participants in Dialogue
Following the panel, participants engaged in small-group conversations that created space for reflection and storytelling across countries, cultures, and lived experiences. Rather than focusing on policy alone, rising leaders were invited to discuss the following questions and consider something more personal — the kind of leader they want to be:
1. What three values do you believe are fundamental to the person and leader you aspire to be? Why?
2. What does success mean to you and how do your values help you distinguish between being successful and living an impactful life?
3. Leadership often asks us to balance what is possible, what is expected, and what we believe is right. How do you navigate those demands while remaining authentic to yourself?
These questions encouraged participants to move beyond titles, institutions, and policy agendas to reflect on the values animating them as leaders.
Driving Future Change
The 2026 Y20 Summit and Aspen reception offered a glimpse of what global leadership can look like when rising generations are given the opportunity to participate meaningfully.
In the spirit of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the evening reflected values that have long animated the International Partners’ work around the world: open dialogue, global partnership, and a belief in the possibility of a better society for all.
While current and future challenges are increasingly complex, rising generations, in partnership with one another, are poised to meet those challenges.
And when young leaders are given the space to connect, the ability to lead, and the opportunity to learn from one another, the possibilities for change are truly global.
