ISLI 2023: We’re ready to face the future
Team Belgium at ISLI: Brecht and Jana (color group facilitators), Diana (newly elected Student Regent), Sien (Student Regent), Birte (newly elected Student Regent) and Elian Pergola (Senior Regent).
In het volgende artikel schrijf ik over een van de meest unieke projecten waar ik tot nog toe deel van uit mocht maken. Het project heet het “International Student Leadership Institute” en wordt kortweg ISLI genoemd. Het project is een Europees project en de voertaal is Engels. Omwille van die reden schrijf ik het volgend artikel dan ook in het Engels – zodat het ook behapbaar blijft voor de hele ISLI familie.
About a week ago I returned from Oberwesel, a small town in Germany near the Rhein river. In that small town, some big things happened: we were able to finally hold the International Student Leadership Institute again after an absence of four years. ISLI is an incredible project that brings together young students (around the age of 16) from different countries in Europe to celebrate the importance of leadership. The aim of this project is to let these youngster get in touch with soft skills about leadership in an educational, yet exceptionally energetic environment. At ISLI the students get short presentations given by Student Regents, who were elected out of the participants from last year’s edition. Then they get together in their color group to work on creative tasks in which they have to include the knowledge they were just taught. The students take home a backpack filled with not only new collaborative skills, but with friendship and memories which they will carry on for a long time – I can speak for myself: ISLI made a deep impact on (at least the first quarter of) my life.
Elian Pergola (BEL) addressing the audience during the Opening Ceremony. ISLI, Oberwesel. (2023)
The International Student Leadership Institute has been creating a community of positive changemakers ever since the 1980s. During the 1980s and in the middle of the heat of the Cold War, the American educational division of their oversea military bases found it necessary to let young people get in touch with the importance of authentic leadership. Especially in polarized times as the 1980s it was clear that young people needed new perspectives of hope and change. The DoDea got together with a bunch of schools from other NATO-countries such as France and Germany to teach their students about leadership. It started as a small project, but soon new schools from different countries joined the program. At ISLI’s last (tradition) edition in 2019 there were about 100 American and 100 European students present.
Due to the covid pandemic and financial issues the project was scratched from the curriculum of the DoDea. In 2020 ISLI was cancelled because of the pandemic, but a couple of weeks later it was clear that the 2019’s edition of ISLI was going be its final one. Until…
Joy Stock (GER) and Elian Pergola (BEL) during the Issues Forum. ISLI, Oberwesel. (2023)
In 2021 the European part of ISLI started meeting again (online) to discuss the future of the cancelled program. Wouldn’t there be any possibility to recreate ISLI and to bring it back? The Board of Adult Regents reached out to the in 2019 elected student Regents and asked them if they were willing to help them launch ISLI again in 2022. Unfortunately it was still impossible to get together with this many students from all over Europe due to covid regulations in Germany – where the institute is held. It was only now in 2023 that the prospects looked bright: no regulations anymore, seven European countries and more then ten different schools being enthusiastic to return to ISLI. And most of all: an unseen energy within the Board of Regents to make the rebirth of ISLI one of the greatest weeks of all time in ISLI’s history.
After more than four years of being apart from this incredible project, I was honored, delighted, and excited to be part of ISLI once again. Back in 2019 I left ISLI being part of the Board of Regents with the words “I live for others”. Ever since it has been a guiding principle in my life. The experience of being part of the Board of Regents during ISLI 2019 changed my life in many ways. I truly met myself back then and found my own true values. Now, after four years, I feel like the importance of ISLI's mission is more crucial than ever. We wake up every day in a world of great uncertainty, which is affecting especially young people. This reality reminded me of what we are doing here at ISLI: it is crucial that we have leaders who are equipped to navigate the challenges of tomorrow in the prospects of peace and prosperity.
The Board of Regents. ISLI, Oberwesel (Germany). (2023)
This year marked the 39th edition of ISLI, and it was an experience that I will never forget. It was a special edition, only because it was the first edition in a new era, but it proved that the program is still holding strong. The group of young leaders who participated in the program gave the very best of themselves, and I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them. It was a pleasure to witness the growth and development of these young leaders, and I am excited to see what they will achieve in the future.
ISLI, we are taught to lead with authenticity and to always consider the impact of our actions on others. This philosophy is not just a theory, but a way of life that I strive to embody in my personal and professional endeavors. But even though ISLI 2023 is over, the work is not done. The Board of Student Regents is still working behind the scenes to modernize and stabilize the program. We are constantly looking for ways to improve the program and make it more accessible to young leaders from all around the world.
One of the main goals of the Board of Student Regents is to make ISLI more sustainable. We are working on creating partnerships with organizations and companies that share our values and are willing to support the program. We are also exploring ways to use technology to make the program more accessible even beyond the one week the institute is organized: how can we create a sustainable and long term impact? Another goal of the Board of Student Regents is to make ISLI more inclusive. We want to make sure that young leaders from all backgrounds have the opportunity to participate in the program and that they feel like ISLI is a community in which they can be whomever they want to be. At ISLI we want to give these youngsters the tools they need to become an effective leaders in their own communities and to make a positive difference in the world: how small or how big ever. But leadership is not just about individual achievement. It is also about collaboration and teamwork, and about building relationships with others, crossing nations, borders and cultures. That is why the international aspect of ISLI is so vital. We come from different countries and backgrounds, but we share a common goal: to become better leaders and to make the world a better place.
Hanna Tuckett (FIN) and Elian Pergola (BEL) during a presentation. ISLI, Oberwesel. (2023)
Finally, the Board of Student Regents wants to update the curriculum of ISLI. We want to make sure that the program is always relevant and up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges facing young leaders around the world. We are working on creating new workshops and sessions that focus on topics such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion and mental health.
My experience at ISLI 2023 was unbelievable: I am beyond grateful to have been a part of this incredible part and I am excited to see how the program will develop in the future. The Board of Regents is committed to making ISLI more sustainable, inclusive, and relevant, and I am proud to be part of a group of young leaders who are dedicated to making positive change in the world. At ISLI I found back an energy I forgot was in me: I found reason in doing what I am doing in life. This energy I will keep close to me, because it takes me places I could never imagine I would ever be.
Maya Angelou once said: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Due to the incredibly beautiful nature of the ISLI-family I will never forget how I felt at the International Student Leadership Institute. This group of Regents will forever have a place in my heart that I won’t ever forget: they’re no longer just a group of people I’ve worked with, but they are a group of lifelong friends. We have lived a long time to show the participants at ISLI 2023 what unifies us. ISLI is heading towards a bright future and yet I don’t know whether or how I will be a part of that, I am proud. At ISLI we will strive to be leaders who inspire others, who make them feel valued and empowered. We will work together to create a bright future for ourselves and for all generations yet to come.
