ISZL Students Step Onto the Global Stage at the 2025 Villars Symposium

From 16–19 June 2025, four High School students and two recent alumni represented ISZL at the fourth annual Villars Symposium in Villars-sur-Ollon.

Set in the Swiss Alps, the Villars Institute was created in 2022 to accelerate the shift to a net-zero, nature-positive economy through intergenerational, systems-level collaboration.

What does it mean to be a Villars Fellow?

• Lifelong learning and community: The Villars Fellowship is a permanent membership in a global network that equips 13–19-year-old changemakers with the skills to lead. Fellows begin with immersive courses and the Symposium in Year 1, then continue to access masterclasses, events, and mentors throughout their studies and early careers.
• Systems Leadership pathway: All Fellows complete the certified Systems Leadership Program, building practical systems-thinking tools they can apply to real-world challenges.
• Mentorship and Youth Council: From Year 2 onward, Fellows can join the Villars Mentorship Program and run for positions on the 10-member Youth Council that shapes future Institute initiatives and events.
• Principles of engagement: Fellows commit to:
  • An onboarding session
  • Completion of the first Systems Leadership course
  • Annual participation in the Global Issues Survey
  • Active contribution to impact projects at school and beyond

A week of systems-level learning

Over four days, our new Villars Fellows immersed themselves in more than 50 workshops, plenaries, and field experiences that spanned climate science, regenerative agriculture, marine conservation, leadership communication, and eco-preneurship. Highlights included:

• “The Art of Leadership Speaking”: a masterclass in persuasive communication for change-makers.
• Guided nature walk to Lac des Chavonnes to experience first-hand the alpine ecosystems they are working to protect.
• Hands-on design sprints where Fellows mapped ways to bring systems thinking back into their own school communities.

During the Symposium, ISZL student Maurits W. had the honour of speaking on the panel “Pathways for Impact: In Your Communities.” He shared insights from ISZL’s ongoing Wetland Project — a student-led initiative to create a self-sustaining wetland on campus. Designed as a living outdoor classroom, the wetland will provide opportunities for scientific exploration, hands-on environmental learning, and carbon capture. Thanks to a generous grant from the Porticus Foundation, this ambitious project is well on its way to becoming a reality, offering long-term ecological and educational value to our school community.

Alumni driving the conversation

Our alumni continue to show what it means to be lifelong learners and leaders:

• Millie Bevan ’25: As a Villars Youth Council member, Millie sat on the plenary panel “Leading Systems Change for Nature and Climate,” joining conservationists, financiers, and policy experts to debate the cross-sector partnerships needed for large-scale restoration.
• Matteo Merkel ’24: Matteo co-facilitated the workshop “Systems Leadership: From Theory to Practice,” which explored what Systems Leadership feel like in practice, especially when navigating complex challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.

What’s next for our Fellows?

Becoming a Villars Fellow is an ongoing commitment. Over the coming months our students will:

• Lead assemblies and advisory sessions to pass on new tools in systems mapping and stakeholder engagement.
• Integrate Symposium insights into existing CAS projects, including biodiversity corridors on campus, and zero-waste initiatives at local events.
• Collaborate virtually with peers from 26 countries on joint climate-action projects, supported by Villars Institute mentors.

We will follow their progress in the 2025-26 school year and look for opportunities to embed their learning across the Primary, Middle, and High School programmes.

Ongoing Partnership

ISZL is proud of its growing partnership with the Villars Institute. The Symposium offers our students one of the world’s most sought-after platforms for youth leadership in sustainability.