The 2026 Youth Leadership Summit is an immersive program for young leaders, ages 14-18, from across the globe. Designed to inspire the next generation of citizen diplomats, the Summit equips participants with essential leadership and professional development skills. Through interactive sessions and activities, students will address global challenges, fostering a commitment to peace, mutual respect, and cross-cultural cooperation.
In the 2026 Youth Leadership Summit 2 participants were from Maryland. This is the summary of one of those participants.
We were fortunate enough to have Madame Ambassador Jessica Ba, the U.S. ambassador for Côte d’Ivoire, come speak to us. Madame Ambassador Jessica Ba emphasized the importance of perseverance in her experience enforcing U.S. policies abroad and the importance of listening to other people. We also met U.S. diplomat John Dinkleman, who shared his stories about the challenges that come with being a diplomat and how he failed the Foreign Service exam four times before passing. Before this summit I didn’t know what diplomacy was. Now, after having learned and experienced some aspects of being a diplomat, I have learned that being a diplomat may not be the best fit for me as a career, but I am still taking what I learned about diplomacy and collaboration in student government and future programs.
This summit not only taught me about foreign affairs and diplomacy but how to command a room so people will listen. Dr. Omékongo Dibinga, a motivational speaker, used slam poetry to share his inspiring personal journey and games to engage us in personal reflections of our own leadership goals. John Dinkleman also used personal stories and humor to explain the sacrifices you have to make in the journey to success. After a week of lectures, and learning about diplomacy I got to partake in a Diplomacy Simulation at the U.S Department of Sate. Through this simulation I was able to understand the importance of being able to negotiate and understand the different aspects of international politics that ifluence a countries needs.
Outside of the professional aspects of YLS, I got to have a taste of what college life might be like at American University (AU). I and 49 other students were excited to stay in college dorms with new friends, eat at the university dining hall together, and explore DC together.
2026 Youth Leadership with Dr. Omékongo Dibinga
We enjoyed attending a Washington Nationals baseball game, having dinner at the Embassy of Cyprus, and seeing the Suffs musical. These nightly activities gave us opportunities to bond over similar interests and a lack of understanding of baseball rules. These incredible opportunities bonded us, we found our friendships that would last beyond this one week in the nightly walks we took exploring the AU campus. This experience left me with friends, skills, and memories I am forever grateful for.
2026 Youth Leaders visit Lincoln memorial
The Ambassador of Cyprus with Youth Leader participant
Photos Curtesy of YLS staff
for more information visit https://sistercities.org/what-we-do/programs/yls/
