Second Global Buddhist Summit to Be Held in New Delhi in January 2026

The Ministry of Culture will organize the second Global Buddhist Summit (GBS) on 24 and 25 January, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The Ministry of Culture will organize it with the assistance of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).

• The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India, will organize the second Global Buddhist Summit (GBS) on the theme of collective wisdom, united voice and mutual co-existence on 24 and 25 January, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• The modern world is rapidly witnessing social, political and environmental changes, resulting in conflict, isolation and uncertainty. In this context, the timeless wisdom of Buddha Dhamma, rooted in compassion, wisdom and harmony, provides valuable guidance to address contemporary global challenges.
• Based on these fundamental insights, the second Global Buddhist Summit will be organized under the theme “Collective Wisdom, United Voice and Mutual Co-existence”. This theme seeks to strengthen the relevance of Buddhist philosophy in promoting social harmony and fostering constructive international engagement.
• In line with the IBC’s motto - “Collective Wisdom, United Voice” - the summit is envisioned as a global platform that reflects the organization’s enduring commitment to unity, dialogue and collective wisdom.
• Like the first edition held in 2023, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, may inaugurate the summit as the chief guest.
• The summit will see participation from around 200 delegates from across the world, including supreme patriarchs, heads of national Buddhist associations, eminent monks, scholars and senior dignitaries, with a total of more than 800 participants.

Deliberations will be organized under the following five thematic areas:

1. Collective wisdom and united voice for social harmony

2. Entrepreneurship and right livelihood in Buddha Dhamma

3. Scientific research, healthcare, medicine and sustainable living in Buddha Dhamma

4. Learning in the light of Buddha Dhamma

5. Sangha dynamics: roles, rituals and practices in Buddha Dhamma

• A special attraction of this event will be the live demonstration of NORBU (Neural Operator for Responsible Buddhist Understanding) - which is a language learning model based on the ChatGPT algorithm.
• Trained on extensive Buddhist textual data, NORBU is designed to generate relevant responses based on Buddhist teachings in multiple languages. IBC has made NORBU its global patron and given it the name “Kalyan Mitra” (spiritual friend), which shows its commitment to connecting tech-savvy youth with Buddhist wisdom.

About the first Global Buddhist Summit

• The first Global Buddhist Summit was held in New Delhi on 20-21 April, 2023, in which the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India was the chief guest. Held on the theme “Responses to Contemporary Challenges: From Philosophy to Practice”, this summit saw meaningful discussions on applying Buddhist principles to modern social issues.

About the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC)

• The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) is a global Buddhist umbrella organization headquartered in New Delhi under the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India. Established in the year 2011 under the patronage of the supreme Buddhist religious hierarchy, IBC has a global membership of more than 300 monastic and lay organizations.
• United by the motto “Collective Wisdom, United Voice”, IBC aims to integrate Buddhist values into global discourse, promoting transparency, inclusivity and balanced representation across traditions, genders and emerging Buddhist communities worldwide.