WINGSForum 2026 – ACT: Activate • Collaborate • Transcend

WINGSForum 2026 will take place on 28-30 September in Montreal, Canada under the theme of “ACT: Activate • Collaborate • Transcend”.

Around the world, communities are navigating profound change. Inequality, climate breakdown, environmental collapse, technological disruption and systems that do not serve people or the planet continue to shape daily realities across different contexts. Many of these challenges are rooted in long-standing imbalances of power that have excluded voices and communities for too long.

At the same time, generosity, solidarity, and collective action are growing. Across regions, organisations are testing new approaches, building partnerships, and reflecting on how philanthropy can help shift the underlying rules of the game- moving away from top‑down models toward community‑led, reciprocal ways of organising resources. Indigenous and grassroots ways of seeing and organising are already pointing the way by showing how resources, relationships, and responsibility can be reshaped—and inspiring us to act.

WINGSForum 2026 takes place at a time of both urgency and opportunity. WINGSForum is a space to understand this rapidly changing world and the role philanthropy can play, to connect experiences, learn from one another, and consider how shared action can support more equitable and sustainable societies. 

The theme for this year recognises that meaningful progress requires shared commitment, steady effort, and collaboration. As philanthropic organisations, we play an important role in shaping what happens next. WINGSForum 2026 offers a space to learn from each other, reflect on our responsibilities, and identify concrete steps that can support progress in different contexts.