The summit that taught me to expect the unexpected
The Youth Sustainability Summit (YSS) is a student-led platform that brings together students from different schools to exchange ideas, share sustainability projects, and learn from one another. I first encountered this when Ecolve&BBPB particiated in the first year at SHSID. As the second year of YSS, we brought it to Concordia. As President, the leadership team and I spent nine months preparing the 2026 summit, coordinating teams and school ambassadors, developing sessions and workshops, and managing the many details behind a cross-school event. Yet even after months of preparation, unexpected situations arose that no plan could fully anticipate. I learned that good leadership is not about making everything go according to plan, but about staying flexible, thinking on my feet, and making decisions when the plan inevitably changes.
Meet Our Partner!​
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One Planet Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on protecting biodiversity, reducing ecological footprints, promoting sustainable use of natural resources, and advancing environmental education and public participation. Its work spans wildlife and ecosystem conservation, climate action, sustainable consumption, and public environmental education.
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Through our partnership with One Planet, the Youth Sustainability Summit (YSS) sells student-designed merchandise, including T-shirts, hoodies, notebooks made from recycled coffee grounds, and other sustainable products. All profits from these sales are donated to One Planet Foundation, connecting our student-led sustainability efforts with the organization’s broader environmental work.
Read our proposal of the event to know more about YSS as a whole!
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The third year of YSS is already under planning (hosted at SMIC)! Find all relevant promotions on our instagram page
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Lanyards were provided for the participants, with schedules written on the back for easy guidance. This is also one of the major unexpected situations we needed to adapt to, as a few hours before the summit, we found out that the school only provided us with the strings but not the lanyards below.
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Each club went up to introduce their initiatives and share some of their greatest takeaways, creating a common space for sharing and learning
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We welcomed two guest speakers who are both professionals in the field of sustainability, giving insights to the students on how to transform interests into careers
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School Booths is where each club has their own stand where they will have the opportunity to share and present their projects. To promote more walk-arounds, we asked each club to come up with an open-ended question where other students have to leave their thoughts and pin them to the board
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Our new workshop this year is transforming used cardboards into picture frames, showing students the power of sustainable consumption
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We provided second used fabrics as additional options of decorations for the frames!
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Another workshop where students will be able to use coffee beans and transform them into bracelets
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Sneak Peaks into our 9-month planning process!
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Gallery of the Many Moments of YSS
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