One tense exchange on a Davos stage can flip markets before breakfast and a handshake in a quiet hall in Munich can re-imagine NATO borders. Political conferences don’t end when the media cameras leave—they launch the domestic and international policies, partnerships, and headlines that impact the world for years.
Political conferences pack rooms with presidents, CEOs, generals and reporters. Agendas cover everything from policy firesides, panels on geopolitical issues and Q&A’s with global leaders. Beyond the stages, leaders also meet in back rooms, exchange ideas and make plans away from the reporters and cameras.
If you’re interested in learning how to engage with media professionals, analysts or government spokespeople at industry events and conferences, you can take a look at our complete guide here.
Key Topics at Political Conferences
The topics we reference below are discussed at nearly every political conference:
Legislative updates and domestic policy news
Domestic updates offer insights into a country’s rules and regulatory changes. In the US, that means election results, school funding battles, or defense budget hikes—issues that hit citizens hardest, though security topics often pull in global watchers. Wherever the event is held, these sessions focus on what keeps locals up at night.
Global political trends and international cooperation
Beyond domestic topics, conferences also typically cover international topics that take place outside the homeland. Even though these sessions cover global issues, they often directly, or indirectly, affect domestic policies. In some cases, the whole point of a conference is international cooperation. This is when different groups of countries come together to discuss key topics and make informed policy decisions.
Journalistic insights
Aside from hard policy discussions at conferences, there are often conversations on various topics, from tech to finance, psychology and more. Although these sessions and topics are not about policies, they can influence and shape conversations that influence policies.
For example, if NYT Dealbook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin is interviewing Jamie Dimon on stage, the conversation will typically cover finance, the economy, and maybe even technology. Specific policies might not even come up in the interview but Sorkin’s journalistic questions and Dimon’s responses will help inform the public’s perception of related topics, making political conferences a particularly impactful platform for sharing political commentary.
For government PR executives, public relations and communications professionals, knowing the top political conferences and staying up to date on the resulting media coverage from political reporters can help inform media relations strategies that help better position a person or company to achieve their strategic priorities.
Get your policies and initiatives in front of your target audience.
The Top 20 Political Conferences You Can’t Miss This Year
1. APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting
- Location: Varies annually
- Notable speakers: Leaders from 21 Pacific Rim economies (e.g., Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida).
- Benefits: The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting focuses on fostering trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. During the conference, leaders discuss regional integration and policies to drive sustainable economic growth.
2. Aspen Ideas Festival
- Location: Aspen, USA
- Notable speakers: Fareed Zakaria, Sam Altman, John Kerry.
- Benefits: Over 3,000 attendees come together in Aspen to explore transformative ideas on key issues including public policy, technology, innovation and more.
3. African Union Summit
- Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Notable speakers: AU Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, heads of African states like Paul Kagame, Macky Sall.
- Benefits: Global leaders attend to influence continental policies on peace and integration. African diplomats and development experts often attend and discuss opportunities for investment in growth sectors.
4. Aspen Security Forum
- Location: Aspen, Colorado, USA
- Notable speakers: Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Condoleezza Rice.
- Benefits: The Aspen Security Forum focuses on in-depth analysis of US national security. In addition to on-the-record conversations, there tend to be many off-the-record discussions on emerging threats.
5. BRICS Summit
- Location: Varies annually
- Notable speakers: Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (e.g., Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Cyril Ramaphosa).
- Benefits: The BRICS Summit brings together leaders to collaborate on emerging markets, including financial and economic policy.
6. Democratic National Convention
- Location: Varies, USA
- Notable speakers: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama.
- Benefits: Democratic leaders from across the US gather to elect their candidate for president once every four years. At the convention, Democratic Party members discuss their policy priorities and vote on the party candidate.
7. Doha Forum
- Location: Doha, Qatar
- Notable speakers: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UN Secretary-General, Hillary Clinton.
- Benefits: The Doha Forum promotes dialogue on diplomacy and diversity with Middle East and global influencers. Topics covered at the conference typically include solutions to regional conflicts and development.
8. European Council Summit
- Location: Brussels, Belgium
- Notable speakers: EU leaders like Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, national heads of government.
- Benefits: European leaders come together at the European Council Summit to shape EU-wide policies on migration, economy and foreign affairs. Attendees typically gain high-level access to European institutions and network to foster transatlantic and global partnerships.
9. G20 Summit
- Location: Varies annually
- Notable speakers: Heads of state from G20 nations such as Justin Trudeau, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Joe Biden.
- Benefits: The G20 Summit often heavily influences economic policies and trade agreements between G20 nations. Discussions with country leaders also focus on coordinating responses to climate, health and inequality.
10. G7 Summit
- Location: Varies annually
- Notable speakers: Leaders from G7 countries such as Fumio Kishida, Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak.
- Benefits: The G7 Summit brings together high-level leaders from G7 nations to discuss diplomatic relationships, economic policies, global crises, sustainable development and more. These policies often have lasting impacts on businesses, charities, individuals and more within and outside of G7 countries.
11. Halifax International Security Forum
- Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Notable speakers: Justin Trudeau, Jens Stoltenberg, Liz Truss.
- Benefits: The discussions at the Halifax International Security Forum focus on democratic security challenges. It brings together transatlantic leaders who share insights on countering authoritarian influences.
12. Munich Security Conference
- Location: Munich, Germany
- Notable speakers: Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Benefits: The Munich Security Conference is heavily focused on defense, featuring conversations with foreign policy experts. Discussions typically cover security, emerging global threats and more. The conference typically focuses on building international alliances and understanding geopolitical shifts.
13. Milken Institute Global Conference
- Location: Beverly Hills, USA
- Notable speakers: Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Benefits: The Munich Security Conference is heavily focused on defense, featuring conversations with foreign policy experts. Discussions typically cover security, emerging global threats and more. The conference typically focuses on building international alliances and understanding geopolitical shifts.
14. NATO Summit
- Location: Varies annually
- Notable speakers: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
- Benefits: The NATO Summit brings together top leadership from countries who are part of the NATO alliance. Military and political leaders discuss topics such as collective defense and alliance strategies.
15. Raisina Dialogue
- Location: New Delhi, India
- Notable speakers: Narendra Modi, S. Jaishankar, Antony Blinken, Hassan El Khatib.
- Benefits: Leaders from the global South gather to explore geopolitics and technology topics, such as multipolarity and digital governance.
16. Republican National Convention
- Location: Varies, USA
- Notable speakers: Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Dana White.
- Benefits: Republican leaders from across the US gather to elect their candidate for president once every four years. At the convention, Republican Party members discuss their policy priorities and vote on the party candidate.
17. Shangri-La Dialogue
- Location: Singapore
- Notable speakers: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Singapore PM Lawrence Wong, Australian Minister for Defense Richard Marles.
- Benefits: Military chiefs and policymakers gather to discuss Asia-Pacific security and defense cooperation. While at the conference, these leaders often build strategic relationships in the Indo-Pacific.
18. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
- Location: New York City, New York, USA
- Notable speakers: UN Secretary-General António Guterres, heads of state like Mahmoud Abbas, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Benefits: The United Nations General assembly brings together global leaders from all over the world to participate in multilateral diplomacy and resolutions. Topics typically covered include sustainable development goals and peacekeeping efforts
19. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
- Location: Davos-Klosters, Switzerland
- Notable speakers: UN Secretary-General António Guterres, heads of state like Mahmoud Abbas, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Benefits: The United Nations General Assembly brings together global leaders from all over the world to participate in multilateral diplomacy and resolutions. Topics typically covered include sustainable development goals and peacekeeping efforts.
20. World Government Summit
- Location: Dubai, UAE
- Notable speakers: Narendra Modi, Jeffrey Sachs, Elon Musk.
- Benefits: Global leaders come together to exchange ideas, explore global solutions and network with leaders from 150+ countries.
How Public Relations Professionals Should Leverage Political Conferences
There are several different ways public relations professionals might want to engage with political conferences depending on their goals. For example, if a spokesperson is attending a political conference, it might make sense to reach out to journalists and schedule interviews.
In other cases, though, where a spokesperson won’t be at a conference, it is important to read the coverage of reporters who are in attendance. Key topics discussed at the conference can shape future coverage, allowing PR executives to identify trends and position their spokesperson as an authority to the media on subjects.
If you are curious about how your company can effectively leverage insights from political conferences to position itself within the news cycle, reach out to our team.