Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi will deliver a keynote address on the second day of the FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference 2026, taking place in New Delhi, India, from 13-15 September 2026.
Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, is one of the world's most exemplary global leaders. For over five decades, he has dedicated his life to championing the freedom, dignity, and dreams of the world's most vulnerable, transforming moral conviction into large-scale, systemic change. His leadership has shaped international norms, national legislation and global movements committed to justice, equity, and human dignity.
Through his grassroots and global movements, Mr. Satyarthi has liberated more than 138,000 children from slavery, trafficking, and exploitation, establishing global models for rehabilitation, education, and justice.
Mr. Satyarthi led the Global March Against Child Labour, mobilising over seven million people across 103 countries in 1998. This unprecedented movement led to the adoption of ILO Convention 182, the fastest-ratified and only universally ratified convention in the history of the International Labour Organization. His sustained efforts were also instrumental in the inclusion of child labour elimination under UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7.
Mr. Satyarthi is the founding president of the Global Campaign for Education and led the movement that helped secure the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act in India (2009). He also founded GoodWeave International, pioneering child labour-free certification leading to ethical supply chains.
In 2024, he launched Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion (SMGC), a powerful call to embed compassion in leadership, public policy, and everyday life. He defines compassion as not a soft emotion or feeling but a transformative force that can solve the world’s most pressing challenges. SMGC unites youth leaders, global leaders and communities to build a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.
As one of the world's foremost leaders, Mr. Satyarthi's presence at the conference reflects FIDIC's commitment to placing people, communities and human dignity at the centre of infrastructure development. His address will bring a powerful, values-driven perspective to a conference otherwise focused on engineering, contracts and delivery, challenging delegates to consider how the infrastructure the world builds can also serve as a force for justice, equity and compassion.
“My message is simple and clear: Let us globalise compassion. I am not a teacher or preacher of compassion; I have made it a way of life. Each of us is being summoned. It is our moral responsibility to respond to this call. The time to ignite your spark of compassion is now. Your time to act is now”, says Mr. Satyarthi.
Click here to discover the programme and the line-up of confirmed speakers.
