World Vision to share first of its kind research with global leaders in Vatican City at Global Summit 2026: Fostering Hope for Children

PRESS RELEASE: May 14, 2026, London.  

• Global leaders from research, humanitarian action, education, philanthropy, and policy are gathering in Vatican City to advance shared priorities for child hope and flourishing.
• World Vision will share first‑of‑a‑kind, scientifically validated evidence on how children experience hope and love — offering new insight into relational, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of child wellbeing.
• World Vision and partners will spotlight holistic, long term pathways that help children grow in resilience, dignity, and purpose amid poverty, conflict, displacement, and disaster.

As crisis, conflict, and climate impact child wellbeing globally, World Vision will join global leaders in research, humanitarian action, education, philanthropy, policy, and civil society at Global Summit 2026: Fostering Hope for Children, June 3-5. 

This landmark event is focused on advancing a global framework for child hope and flourishing. Hosted by The Society for Global Flourishing, in collaboration with World Vision International, Harvard University, the Institute for Global Human Flourishing at Baylor University, and a global coalition of partners, the Summit will bring together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and advocates to respond to the urgent and compounding challenges shaping children’s lives around the world.

First of its Kind Evidence: Measuring Hope Rooted in God’s Love 

At Global Summit 2026, World Vision will unveil our latest research – Measuring the Experience of God’s Love of Children (the Hope and Love Measure) – a first of its kind, scientifically validated research effort. The research was shaped first by the voices of children across diverse cultural contexts and developed in collaboration with theologians, psychologists, and researchers from Harvard University, Duke University, and Claremont Graduate University. The Hope and Love Measure provides a way to assess how children experience love and hope as foundational dimensions of wellbeing. While rooted in Christian theology, the measure is designed for use across faiths and cultures, with indicators that are applicable in humanitarian and development settings. This measure offers new insight into relational, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of child flourishing that are often overlooked, yet critical for long term resilience and development.

Global Summit 2026 
Only by working together with partners can deliver the best results for child flourishing. In a world marked by crisis, conflict, and climate disaster, World Vision believes that to ensure child flourishing we must attend to children’s social, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs so that hope can take root. Global Summit 2026 will gather leaders and organisations that reflect that commitment to child flourishing and aims to move beyond short term crisis response toward holistic, long-term pathways that enable children to grow with resilience, dignity, and purpose even in the most difficult situations. 

The summit will take place in Vatican City, a setting long associated with scholarship, inter-religious dialogue, and spiritual and moral reflection. Virtual participation options will ensure global accessibility and include live streamed sessions, interactive working groups, and certificates of participation for eligible registrants.

For more information about Global Summit 2026, including event details and participation options, visit: https://globalsummit2026.vfairs.com

ENDS

For Media Inquiries please contact: 
Amanda Munoz, Sr. Advisor, Impact Communications, World Vision International, amanda_munoz@wvi.org 

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organisation dedicated to ending extreme poverty and injustice — one child, one family, and one community at a time. Today, we are a global movement of community members, donors, and leaders, working alongside partners to ignite momentum and create lasting change for children everywhere.