Executive & Alumni Ad Hoc Delegations
What are YDC Ad Hoc Delegations?
As an avenue to both increase the operational understanding of YDC delegations and to extend professional development opportunities, YDC Executives and Alumni are invited to participate in specific delegation opportunities on an ad hoc basis.
Past Delegations
2026
Indigenous Youth Roots x EMRIP 19th Session
July 13-17, 2026 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Delegation: Daryl Kootenay, Megan Lewis, Chantu William, Kim Wakeford, Samantha Newman
Young Diplomats of Canada's support enabled Indigenous Youth Roots (IYR) to send a youth delegation, with staff support, to the 19th Session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in Geneva. EMRIP brings together state governments, academics, and advocates to study and advance the implementation of Indigenous rights worldwide; this year's session addressed Indigenous rights in conflict and post-conflict contexts, Indigenous participation at the UN, and preparations for the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
The delegation also hosted its own side event, a panel titled Amplifying Youth Voices: Indigenous Leadership & UNDRIP in Canada, bringing together youth delegates, policy staff, and an OHCHR fellowship alumnus to examine how Indigenous youth in Canada relate to UNDRIP and to reconciliation. The panel's goals were to:
Explore how Indigenous youth in Canada conceptualize their rights in relation to UNDRIP and its role in reconciliation
Identify best practices for strengthening Indigenous youth leadership in rights implementation, domestically and internationally
Facilitate knowledge exchange among advocates, stakeholders, and policymakers invested in UNDRIP implementation and youth empowerment
Read their reflections here
UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance
July 6-10, 2026 (Geneva, Switzerland)
YDC Delegate: Marcos Avina (Y20 2025 Alumni)
The inaugural session of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance took place in Geneva, Switzerland from July 6–10, 2026. As the first UN-backed platform of its kind, the summit’s primary purpose was to flatten the tech hierarchy and establish a truly inclusive international framework. By ensuring all 193 member states have an equal seat at the table alongside tech leaders and civil society, the Dialogue aims to ensure that global AI rules reflect the priorities of all nations—not just the most technologically advanced.
Three major highlights and takeaways emerged from high-stakes deliberations:
1. Bridging the Global AI Divide: A massive point of consensus was that the benefits of AI must not remain in the hands of a few wealthy nations. Delegates focused heavily on actionable capacity-building—specifically expanding developing nations' access to high-performance computing, sustainable energy infrastructure, and open-source models.
2. The "Human Oversight" Mandate: In the face of accelerating AI capabilities, the summit underscored a strict need for human-controlled decision-making. A major takeaway was the push to legally enforce robust human oversight, ensuring that life-altering choices in critical sectors like healthcare, policing, and justice are never fully outsourced to autonomous algorithms.
3. Protecting the Vulnerable from Algorithmic Harm: Led by calls from UN leadership, the dialogue heavily targeted the "sinister" side of unchecked AI, specifically the psychological risks, deepfakes, and algorithmic manipulation impacting children and women. Establishing mandatory, safety-by-design standards became a primary cornerstone for the future global framework.
Read more about Marcos’s experience here
2024
Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security 2024
November 13-16, 2024 (Hiroshima, Japan)
YDC Delegate: Anne-Sophie St-Gelais, YDC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Through this program, the Hiroshima Prefecture and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons aim to nurture global leaders who can make concrete contributions towards a more peaceful and secure world. Participants learn through a combination of online learning and webinars, fieldwork, lectures, and group work.
Centered on the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons, the Academy fosters discussion among diverse voices, exploring ways to build a sustainable, secure world for all. It deals with issues related to nuclear weapons and global security with focuses on the following four dimensions:
Humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons
Political, legal and technical aspects – nuclear weapons and global security
Civil society in action
Diplomacy for disarmament and security and the role of the United Nations
United Nations Summit of the Future
September 22-23, 2024 (New York City, USA)
YDC Delegate: Tiffany Lee (YDC Alumni - 2021 WBG/IMF Annual Meetings)
The Summit of the Future is a once-in-a-generation event to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives. Building on the SDG Summit of 2023, Member States considered ways to lay the foundations for more effective global cooperation that can deal with today’s challenges as well as new threats in the future. After two years of global negotiations and collaboration, the 2024 Pact for the Future was finalized during the Summit, bringing fresh solutions to climate action, technological governance, digital inclusion, and global peace.
World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (WBG-IMF) Spring Meetings
April 15-20, 2024 (Washington D.C., USA)
YDC Delegates:
Sara Lafond, YDC Alumni Engagement Lead
Daniel Burgos, YDC Alumni Engagement Coordinator
Anjum Sultana, YDC Alumni (2019 Y7 Delegate)
Sebastian Muermann, YDC Alumni (2017 WTO Delegate)
David Boroto, YDC Alumni (2018 WBG/IMF Annual Meetings Delegate)
Ashton Mathias, YDC Alumni (2021 WTO Delegate)
The Annual and Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
YDC delegates interact with experts from around the world while attending WBG-IMF Summit sessions and participating in meetings with stakeholders.
2023
Canada-Japan Policy Design Workshop
November 16, 2023 (Vancouver, Canada)
YDC Delegates:
Anne-Sophie St-Gelais, YDC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Marissa Fortune, YDC Alumni (2019 Y7 Delegate)
Lindsay Bain, YDC Alumni (2021 WTO Delegate)
Heather O’Watch, YDC Alumni (2023 Y7 Delegate)
Sydney Whiting, YDC Alumni (2023 Y7 Delegate)
The Canada-Japan Policy Design Workshop brought together five youth from Japan and five youth from across Canada to reflect on factors making the world less peaceful and identify solutions to overcome those global issues under the purview of peace education. Drawing on their different backgrounds, delegates presented dozens of solutions to address four global issues they identified as priorities: Lack of Diversity in Policy-making; Climate-based Human Displacement; Land and Resource Governance; and Racial and Gender-based Violence.
ASEAN & Youth Summit
September 6-8, 2023 (Jakarta, Indonesia)
YDC Delegates:
Mitch McAnally, YDC Alumni (YDC Communications Advisor)
Mojann Zibapour, YDC Alumni (2021 Y7 Delegate)
Emilio Caputo, YDC Alumni (2022 WBG/IMF Spring Meetings Alumni)
The Summit was designed to discuss five themes (also referred to as ‘tracks’): Digital Literacy and Inclusion, Food Security, Green Economy, Future of Education and Work, and Health. The goal of the Summit was three-fold:
Allow attendees to network with like-minded internationalists from across various member and partner countries;
Deliver a joint statement and receive feedback from the Indonesian House of Representatives on our work;
Listen and learn from panels on the five themes.
ECOSOC Youth Forum
April 25-27, 2023 (New York City, USA)
YDC Delegates:
Emily Gribbin (YDC Communications Lead)
Hannah Chan (YDC Development Lead)
The 2023 ECOSOC Youth Forum was guided by the theme of the 2023 High-Level Political Forum on “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. The Forum provided a space for youth to discuss their vision and recommendations for the SDG Summit to be held in September 2023.
