By Niamh Ryan - Reading time 1 min
At the 2026 Web Summit Qatar, Make‑A‑Wish International President & CEO Luciano Manzo joined Forbes Brazil’s Luciana Rodrigues on stage for a conversation on how organizations embed purpose at global scale and ensure it is reflected in strategy, leadership, and long‑term growth across different markets and cultures.
Drawing on Make‑A‑Wish International’s experience operating in nearly 50 countries and having granted more than 650,000 wishes since 1980, the discussion explored how purpose becomes a shared language rather than a replicated message. Their conversation covered building shared meaning across cultures, balancing global alignment with local leadership, grounding purpose in evidence, and sustaining trust and impact over time.
Speaking purpose fluently means more than consistent messaging. For Make‑A‑Wish International, it requires ensuring the mission is deeply understood, credible, and trusted across cultures. The organization exists to create life‑changing wishes for children with critical illnesses, with a vision to grant the wish of every eligible child, and that purpose must be lived locally to remain meaningful.
Local Make-A-Wish Affiliates and Licensed Territories lead wish delivery because they best understand their healthcare systems, cultural attitudes to illness and family, and what credibility looks like in their communities. The international organization provides alignment, research, tools, and shared standards, enabling purpose to be expressed locally rather than imposed globally.
Central to this work is a shared understanding of what a wish represents. A wish is not a single moment but a carefully designed journey grounded in positive psychology, supporting a child’s well‑being and resilience throughout their treatment experience. Once this shared meaning is established, local teams are empowered to communicate and deliver wishes in ways that reflect their language, culture, and lived realities, guided by global principles around ethical storytelling, brand integrity, and responsible use of technology.
Purpose is also grounded in evidence. Make‑A‑Wish International’s Global Theory of Change demonstrates consistent emotional and psychological outcomes for children and families across countries, including improved well‑being, increased joy and happiness, and lasting positive family memories. Research also shows that every 25 seconds a child is diagnosed with a critical illness somewhere within the network, reinforcing the urgency that drives the mission every day.
As Make‑A‑Wish International continues to grow, new Affiliates and Licensed Territories are supported through rigorous assessment, mentoring, and long‑term investment in local leadership. Technology plays a key role in connecting staff and volunteers across regions, strengthening collaboration, and reinforcing shared purpose across borders.
Increasing support for the Make-A-Wish mission shows that when purpose is clear, evidence‑based, and lived locally, trust deepens, stories resonate more powerfully, and growth becomes sustainable.