A group of students from different years had the opportunity to attend the 2022 Arch Summit which was held in Lux Expo.

Attending as the opening speaker was the Luxembourg Minister of Economy, Franz Fayot. Minister Fayot gave an informative introduction on how sustainability and climate change is an integral part for us all as we continue to innovate. Also mentioned was how Luxemburg still has many improvements that need to be made. After all, Luxembourg has the second earliest overshoot day of only February 13th. Afterwards, the students walked around and spoke to people from tech companies such as IBM where they learnt about current work in quantum computers.

Also attending the summit was Sophia Kianni, the United Nations youngest member in the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. Sophia gave an inspiring presentation about her work as a young climate activist, starting her own organisation and her current work with the UN. At only 20 years old, Sophia runs Climate Cardinals which works to translate materials on the topic of climate change into different languages.

After her keynote speech, Sophia met with St George’s students, who asked questions about her work and climate activism. Now is the time for young people to act against climate change, so by supporting sustainable businesses and speaking with older generations, Sophia stressed how we can still make a difference on a governmental level without the ability to vote.

Student feedback on the event

“I learned a lot about new technology innovations. I enjoyed the fact that there was a huge range of different ways the technologies were being used for.” – Arsene, Year 13

“It was great fun and I also learned very interesting things, talked to some very interesting people, and got important contacts.” – Noe, Year 11

Watch the video from the summit here