On October 10, 2025, 160 participants—100 in the room, 60 online—worked through an ambitious agenda aimed at redefining international development in today’s disordered world. Aided by an array of expert speakers, leading-edge analysis on AI, financing and the SDGs, and strong background documents, the Group of 78’s 2025 annual conference, held at the University of Ottawa and supported by the International Development Research Centre, drew much praise.
As one attendee wrote: “I attended much of it today (virtually) and found it amazing. So many aha moments, so many incredible experts discovered, so many brilliant participants, panelists, and rapporteurs, and so much to keep in mind for a more hopeful future! Congratulations for such a great event and looking forward to reading the G78 recommendations.” Another said: “That was some remarkably high-level stuff, including what was easily the best discussion of AI I’ve found anywhere.”
“First class,” “excellent,” and “eye-popping” were descriptors used by still other participants. And, in their observations during the conference wrap-up session, student rapporteurs from Ottawa and Carleton universities were enthusiastic about what they learned during the day. “I appreciated having an open forum that challenged ideas,” remarked one student. Said another, reflecting a feeling shared by her peers, “I am leaving here more optimistic for the future.”
The Chief Rapporteur of the conference, Susanne Ure, has already begun to pull together the students’ notes on each session, photos, video clips of key moments, and insights and new directions from the keynote speakers, panelists and attendees, to generate a conference report with concrete, actionable policy recommendations to the Government of Canada and its bilateral and multilateral allies. The Group of 78 will take those actions forward through policy advocacy, education and dialogue, and coalition-building.
Following the meeting, Ted Jackson, Chair of the Group of 78, reflected: “This conference and all the people who participated in it to make it such a success constitute a new platform, a launchpad, for the next phase of the G78’s work on economic and social justice. We want to improve our approach—with stronger links to Indigenous perspectives and greater engagement with francophone colleagues—but we are building something very special here: an independent, activist development agenda for a hopeful future. We must continue to work together to redefine development as we proceed forward.”