Youth Summit 2026

by Young@Mission21

The Youth Summit 2026 is a two-day, international online event for young adults, where participants aged 18 - 35 can exchange ideas and learn together on key issues of global justice.

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On 27 and 28. The International Youth Summit will take place online via Zoom for the 9th time on March 2026. This year, everything revolves around the preservation and promotion of biodiversity.In the three sessions, we will be looking at new perspectives, socio-cultural approaches and, of course, the commitment of young adults worldwide.

The Youth Summit 2026 will soon be live. The young@mission21 team and the Sounding Board are pleased to announce that this year's edition will be larger than in previous years. After around 140 young adults from 38 countries registered in 2025 and the participants were highly engaged in the event, we would like to fulfill their wish for more space to share and learn together. To this end, we have extended the Youth Summit to two days and more than doubled the time! So mark the dates in your calendars: the Youth Summit 2026 will take place online via Zoom on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28, 2026. Register today here, We look forward to your participation.

The Youth Summit 2026 will take place during the following time slots. All times are in CET. You can find your time zone here.

Friday, March 27, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. CET	New Perspectives on the Impacts of a Decrease in Biodiversity and Local Adaptations
Saturday, March 28, 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CET	The Heritage of Biodiversity Conservation
Saturday, March 28, 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. CET	Youth Actions against the Decrease in Biodiversity

Speakers

Effective nature conservation with remote sensing in conflict-affected regions

Manuel Weber (DR Congo)

Manuel Weber is an environmental scientist and works as a biomonitoring and research consultant for the Upemba-National Park in the DR Congo. At the same time, he is doing his doctorate at Wageningen University in the Netherlands in the field of remote sensing and geoinformation systems. He is working on the question of how sustainable and effective nature conservation can be achieved in conflict-affected regions.

Find out more about Manuel Weber

Manuel studied environmental sciences in Germany, Switzerland and South Africa. Since 2018, alongside his studies, he has been working in various roles in nature conservation in sub-Saharan Africa: initially in the field of Combating poaching in South Africa, later in nature conservation management in Namibia, as an ornithologist in Chad and finally, from 2023, as a consultant for the Upemba-National Park in the DR Congo. Its tasks include the training and further education of local specialists, advising the park management on ecological issues and coordinating the Working with spatial data. Since 2025, he has been doing his doctorate as an external PhD student at Wageningen University in the field of remote sensing and geoinformation systems.

Further speakers will be announced shortly.

The organizers

img 2890 team young with sarah heller 4zu3

We are Mandula, Sarah, Jonas and Carole.
We work part-time for young@mission21.

Contact
Tel.: +41 (0)61 260 22 39
► E-mail

FAQs

Do I have to take part in all three events?

Do I have to be of legal age to take part?

How much does it cost to take part in the Youth Summit 2026?

Will I receive a certificate for my participation?

What is Mission 21?

Mission 21 is active in 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America as part of sustainable development cooperation and humanitarian aid for peacebuilding, education, health, food sovereignty and against violence against women and children. In this way, we contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We combine this worldwide commitment in our work as an international learning community with programs for transcultural exchange and interreligious cooperation, as well as promoting an understanding of global interrelationships. Young@Mission21 is Mission 21's network for young adults. We are committed to cultural exchange between young adults from all over the world and work for a just world.