As Florida prepares to host the 21st annual G20 Summit, Florida International University students met with international officials and discussed issues expected to take center stage at the summit.
The G20 Miami 2026 Preview featured a fly-in for FIU students interested in interning in Washington, D.C. The event included discussions and meetings with officials from Canada, Mexico, Singapore and Poland.
“In a few years these students will be the ones deciding on the most important issues, not just here in the United States but on an international scale,” said former Polish President Andrzej Duda. “Now, especially with events like the Russian war in Ukraine, we need smart allied people as politicians.”
The events focused on three topics expected to shape the summit: trade, collaboration and technology. Two representatives from IonQ held a Q&A to discuss FIU’s recent purchase of a quantum computer and the rise of artificial intelligence.
Kimberly Green, president of the Green Family Foundation, said the talks raised questions about these technological advances.
“It’s like the new gold rush, the new frontier,” she said. “Who’s going to be in control of it? That’s why it’s important to have human beings at this conference and to be heard.”
For others, the conferences were a chance to share their national values ahead of the summit.
“It’s very important for Poland, because we are receiving an invitation as a guest,” said Duda. “My hope as a former president and a Polish patriot is that we will become a full member of the G20 in the future.”
