The final day of the Global Youth Leadership Summit focused on sustaining long-term change. Youth leaders developed strategies to ensure their projects thrive beyond the Summit, emphasizing resource management and community engagement. A reflection session, led by the Global Youth Leadership Council, encouraged participants to share their biggest takeaways. The event wrapped up with a Summit Celebration Night, filled with music, cultural exchanges, and a powerful speech from Mary Davis. As these young leaders return home, they carry the tools to drive inclusion forward in their communities.
GLOBAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
The 2025 Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Summit will take place in Turin, Italy, from 8 – 10 March, harnessing the energy and diversity of the Special Olympics Winter World Games. This Summit will unite nearly 100 youth and adult leaders from over 20 Special Olympics Programs to showcase how young people, both with and without intellectual disabilities, are accepting the call to be the next generation of inclusive leaders under the theme “The Future Begins with Us.” With the Games’ theme, “The Future Is Here,” as the backdrop, this Summit will highlight that young people are not just part of the future—they are the ones with the ability and power to shape it.
Over the course of this three-day global convening, participants will build the skills necessary to cultivate inclusive mindsets, challenge harmful stereotypes, and advance equity within their schools and communities. Through their actions, they will demonstrate that young people hold the power to drive the movement toward a more inclusive world, starting today.
GLOBAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
The Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Council (GYLC) was established to evolve Special Olympics youth work from being for the youth to by the youth. The Council will position young leaders to play an active role in the execution of Special Olympics programming at the Global, Regional, National, and local levels.
By increasing our youth’s capacity through meaningful leadership roles, this diverse group of young people with and without intellectual disabilities (ID), are coming together to conceptualize, design, and lead initiatives to support Special Olympics youth work worldwide.
