In May 2025, Young European Leadership proudly participated in the Youth 7 (Y7) Summit in Ottawa, Canada, contributing to one of the most significant youth engagement platforms tied to the G7 Presidency. As the official youth engagement group of the G7, the Y7 brings together young changemakers to discuss global challenges and present a unified set of recommendations to G7 leaders.
This year’s summit, held under the Canadian G7 Presidency, gathered delegates from across the globe to tackle key issues under the theme, with our roster being Marios Chalaris, Zara Okusi, Lara Sofia Render and Giacomo Di Capua.
Over the course of several intense days, delegates worked in policy tracks aligned with the G7 priorities, including:
- Climate and Environmental Justice – Marios Chalaris
- Inclusive and Future-Ready Economies – Zara Okusi
- Digital Transformation and Democracy – Lara Sofia Render
- Peace and Security – Giacomo Di Capua
YEL’s delegates brought forward a distinctly European perspective, ensuring that the voices of young people across the EU and beyond were represented in global conversations. They engaged in dialogue, policy drafting, and negotiations to shape a joint Communiqué – a document formally presented to G7 leaders.
YEL Delegate Giacomo Di Capua on stage
Here are is what happened during the Summit as recorded by our delegates
Lara Sofia Render
The second day of the Y7 negotiations was another one filled with thought-provoking panels, negotiations, and “water-cooler moments” between coffees, pies, and finger food.
For the early birds, the day began with a short 2K run around the War Museum and along the Ottawa River, offering beautiful views of Parliament and the tulips currently blooming across the city – 10,000 of which are gifted annually by the Dutch Royal Family. (To learn more about this tradition, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/art-monuments/temporary-exhibits/tulips-capital.html
After a quick shower and breakfast – a perfect moment to catch up with fellow delegates from the same delegation – some shared their experiences of overtime negotiations due to a lack of consensus on recommendations from the previous day. Others spoke about drafting new recommendations with fellow delegates, while some recounted discussing political issues in their own and others’ countries, outside their assigned track topics.
At 8:30 AM, the official program resumed with a plenary discussion on the economy and supply chain resilience. This session explored the role, potential, and limitations of trade agreements, as well as the responsibilities and mechanisms for fostering economic development among trade partners.
Audience questions addressed challenges such as integrating people into the workforce who face health-related barriers, and the limitations of relying on consumer education to change unsustainable production and processing practices.
Energized by these insights and words of encouragement to continue representing the interests of young people to G7 leaders, we returned to our respective tracks to further develop our nine recommendations. Heated debates followed – on the number of recommendations per pillar, the titles, and the content of a few remaining items – until most recommendations and the overall structure within each track became clear.
During lunch, suggestions for refining the wording of individual recommendations flowed alongside soft drinks and juices. Food and information traveled from table to table, delegate to delegate, and mouth to mouth.
After lunch, another plenary session provided the necessary distance from our track-specific work, enabling delegates to review drafts with fresh eyes. The afternoon panel on peace and security was a powerful call to action. It reassured us that we were exactly where we needed to be: speaking up for ourselves and our peers, and representing our passionate views on the most pressing global issues.
In the final negotiation session of the day, preambles and final wording for all recommendations were agreed upon. Discussions also began around selecting one flagship recommendation per track.
The evening offered a networking opportunity. At the University of Toronto, the Young Diplomats of Canada hosted a reception for all Y7 delegates to meet and engage with alumni, panelists, and diplomats – such as the German Ambassador to Canada and a former Afghan MP who fled her country due to the Taliban’s policies on women.
A walk back to the hotel during sunset wrapped the day up beautifully.
Zara Okusi
The day kicked off with our penultimate negotiation session in my track, Economy and Supply Chain Resilience. We focused on ironing out the final details of our recommendations, going section by section to make sure everyone was on the same page.
After that, we attended a panel discussion on AI, which included the EU Counsellor to the Delegation to Canada. The discussion highlighted some of the major challenges facing AI today and emphasised how collaboration can help ensure AI is implemented safely – without threatening job security.
Following lunch, the Mayor of Ottawa shared some remarks. What really surprised me was when he mentioned that all the other large Canadian cities – Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, and Quebec – could all fit inside Ottawa, yet the city only has about 1 million inhabitants! That really puts Ottawa’s size into perspective. He went on to share inspiring words of encouragement and emphasised how important the Y7 Summit is for addressing the challenges young people face.
In the afternoon, we had our final negotiation session. This part was mostly about ensuring consistency in language and correcting any lingering mistakes. My track wrapped up early around 14:30, so we took the opportunity to visit the House of Commons. During the tour, I was fascinated to learn that after every Speaker of the House is elected, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition literally drag the newly elected Speaker to their chair!
Later, we reconvened for our final negotiation across all tracks. This was the moment when anyone could raise concerns about the recommendations. Naturally, our track was a bit nervous – we worried last-minute changes might be needed – but thankfully, everything passed without a hitch! We proceeded to vote, and all the recommendations were officially adopted, meaning we had successfully completed our Communiqué!
Finally, the Heads of Delegations did one last review of the Communiqué to ensure everything was in order. And after all that hard work, it was officially confirmed – the Communiqué was done, and it was time to celebrate!
Below is the signed 2025 Y7 Communique, in which our Delegates were hugely instrumental in creating. Well done to our delegates and we look forward to being back next year!
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