Youth Forum 2026
For the very first time, we hosted a Youth Forum. This event was open to high school and university students from around the world and was held online on October 21, 2026.
Our theme: environmental data and information.
Together, we learned about how to find, access, analyze and interpret environmental data and information from various sources and on a range of topics.
University students - three recent graduates shared how they worked with environmental data and information. In the breakout groups, they worked with high school students to share their methods and tools.
High school students learned from the graduate students about how they accessed and used environmental data and information. They could choose one of the breakout groups to learn more details and apply the methods and tools step by step.
Presenters at the Youth Forum:
Luisa Struck holds an MS in Environment and International Affairs from Georgetown University, with a concentration in sustainable energy technology and policy, and a BA in International Relations from King’s College London. Currently, she is a Research Fellow with the Clean Economy Bridge Program, where she researches agrivoltaics adoption barriers, and is beginning an internship with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in the renewable energy Project Development Program. For her Georgetown master's capstone project, she worked with the Manu Biological Station on forest restoration and carbon market feasibility research in Peru’s Kosñipata Valley.
Lillian Breier holds an MS in Environment and International Affairs from Georgetown University and a BA in Politics and French from Pomona College. Next month, she will begin a research fellowship at the US Federal Government with the Marine Minerals Administration, where she will evaluate the agency’s Tribal consultation process for offshore development projects. For her Georgetown capstone project, she worked with Manu Biological Station on habitat connectivity mapping, and also created original illustrations for a community-facing toolkit designed to share restoration strategies and resources with local landholders.
This presentation takes you into the Peruvian Andes-Amazon, drawing on photographs and stories from our fieldwork at the Manu Biological Research Station. It introduces the project's four components: habitat connectivity mapping, soil analysis and the forest restoration areas, a community agroforestry toolkit, and a carbon market feasibility and policy analysis.
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Laiba Anwar, a BBA Marketing student at Bahria University Karachi and the founder of Maqqtex, a textile sourcing and quality auditing venture. Her capstone research focuses on environmental and labour compliance gaps in Pakistan's small and medium textile manufacturing units.
The presentation examines structural and financial compliance gaps in Pakistan's SME textile sector, focusing on wastewater treatment, labour audits and outlines practical, scalable interventions.
We hope to see many of you next year again at the 2027 Youth Forum.