Youth Leadership Summit Update
Seven outstanding high school students representing the City of La Cañada Flintridge attended Sister Cities International’s 2026 Youth Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., this past summer. Selected by Sister Cities International from applicants around the world, La Cañada Flintridge had the highest number of representatives of all the sister cities.
The students joined a diverse group of young leaders committed to building stronger international relationships. Facilitated by members of the U.S. Diplomatic Corps, the Summit was designed to inspire the next generation of citizen diplomats and provide students with a deeper understanding of diplomacy, leadership, and global engagement.
La Canada Flintridge students at the2026 Youth Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.: Tina L., Ashani R., Madelyn C., Alexandra K., Katia T., Leyna E. & Martin C.
For the La Cañada Flintridge students, the experience provided a unique opportunity to represent their community on an international stage while connecting with young people from around the world who share their passion for making a positive difference in their communities and beyond.
— Vicki Schwartz and Tamar Tujian
Co-Presidents, La Cañada Flintridge Sister Cities Association
Student Experience Report from La Cañada High School student, Tina L.
“We are at Washington Dulles International Airport, and it is 7PM--we were supposed to be at American University by 6PM to have our first dinner together.
I remember feeling incredibly nervous, with questions racing through my mind: Will I be able to make friends? What if they already made friend groups, and I will be alone? How am I going to belong? And these thoughts continued from the airport until the moment we reached American University, where our SCI Youth Leadership Summit took place.
Yet the instant I walked into the common area, the worries immediately disappeared, and it felt as though I have known them for ages. All the students welcomed us in, asked where we were from, laughed and made jokes, and we played card games for the rest of the night until our curfew at 10:30PM. It was moments like these--plus times where we stayed up watching the World Cup, played games, attended baseball matches, toured Washington D.C., and a lot more--that I felt so comfortable being myself.
Of course, the students were not the only ones who made this experience so meaningful. The staff were so supportive in building the best experience for all of us while also working towards a balance between learning more about diplomacy and fostering a space filled with joy and excitement. When I look back at this experience, I remember the times my group and I joked around with our Group Leader, Caleb, and the mini-competitions we had with other students (where we were awfully competitive) to see who could create the best simulation of Sister Cities relationships between 2 randomly generated cities across the world. I remember how fascinated I was with every speaker/diplomat who spoke, and I still have written in my notebook important takeaways that will be cherished forever. Their ability to transform such a complex experience into a form of storytelling that is so captivating and awe-striking has been inspirational for who I want to be in the future.
Sister Cities YLS Program has been an experience that has held a meaningful and important place in my heart. It has taught me so much about diplomacy, and not only that, it allowed me to learn more about myself as a person. I learned to grow confident in expressing my ideas to a range of perspectives across communities in the U.S., deal with discomfort as something powerful and positive for self-growth and building friendships, and take the first steps in being an active citizen diplomat for my own community and beyond. I am honored to be able to participate in SisterCities Youth Leadership Summit.”