Coordination Meetings
YPAC Coordination Meeting 2025 in Trogen
External Evaluation Confirms High Quality and Sustainable Impact
From November 12th-14th 2025, the preparatory meeting of the Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention (YPAC) took place at the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Trogen. For the third consecutive year (following 2023 and 2024), the event was held at this special location under the leadership of Jens Weber and Pascal Frank.
The excellent infrastructure of the Children’s Village enabled a diverse and intensive program: plenary and working group sessions, shared meals and overnight stays, as well as cultural activities created an ideal setting for exchange and collaboration. A guided walk through the village of Trogen, with its historic buildings – including filming locations from the movie “The Divine Order” – together with a screening of the film, rounded off the program and encouraged dialogue among participants.
Substantive Preparation for the 2026 Youth Parliament in Chamonix, France
The main focus of the preparatory meeting was the thematic orientation of the next YPAC Youth Parliament, which will take place in spring 2026 in Chamonix. The organising team from Chamonix presented the overarching theme “Climate Resilient Development”. In various committees, the young participants will address key future-oriented topics, including: glaciers and climate change, the energy transition in the Alpine region, education and public awareness, economic resilience in the Alps.
The aim of the Youth Parliament is to develop a joint resolution comprising five to eight concrete policy proposals, which will be adopted at the Youth Parliament’s General Assembly.
External Evaluation Confirms High Project Quality
The preparatory meeting in Trogen is supported by Appenzell foundations, the Kantonsschulverein Trogen, and the Movetia Swiss Foundation. As part of a project visit, the Movetia Swiss Foundation prepared a monitoring report that attests to the project’s high quality and full achievement of its objectives.
The report highlights in particular:
- the high relevance of the topics addressed,
- the careful planning and strong professional support,
- active participation of young people
- and the sustainable impact on the participating young people, extending well beyond the duration of the project.
According to the evaluation, all defined objectives were fully achieved.
Appreciation and Acknowledgements
The entire Trogen team was very pleased with this positive feedback. The team includes Jens Weber and Pascal Frank (Economics & Law), Fabienne Carniello (History), James Januszewski (English), as well as the students Sara Schoch (6ad), Florient Blum (4b), Flurin Bühler (4ad) and Viola Borghesio (5ad).
The preparatory meeting in Trogen clearly demonstrates how school-based engagement, international cooperation and civic education can be successfully combined – benefiting young people and contributing to the sustainable future of the Alpine region.
YPAC Coordination Meeting 2024 in Trogen
Snowballs and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
This year's YPAC coordination meeting, which took place from November 20 to 22 in the snow-covered Pestalozzi Children's Village in Trogen, fully met the high expectations. A total of 47 participants attended, representing 10 delegations from seven Alpine countries. The preparatory meeting was supported by the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention and the CIPRA network.
The first part of the meeting focused on feedback and insights from the last parliamentary session in Kamnik, Slovenia, in the spring of 2024. Potential innovations were derived from these discussions and explored in working groups. In participatory processes, students and teachers worked together to develop viable solutions.
In the second part, the topics and organization of the parliamentary session in Rosenheim, scheduled for spring 2025, were presented and critically discussed with the organizing team. In Rosenheim, the Youth Parliament will address four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and document their impact on the goals of the Alpine Convention through a resolution.
The third part involved decisions on the necessary organizational coordination between all schools and participating organizations, as well as the internal structure of YPAC.
The weather was particularly memorable, as Trogen was covered in a wintery blanket of snow. The walks to the cantonal school’s cafeteria and the RAB Bar in Trogen were brisk and adventurous. The startup "nudelfertig", created as part of the Economics & Law specialization, was presented to the plenum by CEO Sara Schoch. The instant noodles also served as the dinner for the second evening.
The preparatory meeting ended in the cafeteria of the Cantonal School of Trogen before all delegations began their journeys home.
On behalf of the Trogen delegation: Pascal Frank, Jens Weber, Fabienne Carniello, James Januszewski, Julia Felber, Sara Schoch, Viola Borghesio
