For the first time ever, Moorestown Friends School will participate in the Global Leadership Summit. The conference is built around the idea of coming together for a common cause. This year, the theme is sustainability. The conference will include many workers in the field of sustainability as well as a keynote speaker that will be determined at a later date.

The conference begins with tours of Lucerne, Switzerland, and Freiburg, Germany. The tours give students an opportunity to learn more about renewable energy and urban farming. Afterwards, the students will travel to Berlin, Germany to participate in the Global Leadership Summit. The Summit lasts from July 15-17. Participants from around the world will be broken up into teams and will develop solutions based on creating a sustainable future.The winning team’s project will be added to a special exhibit at the Nobel Peace Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Head of school and trip leader, Julia de la Torre said, “The goal of the trip is to educate students on sustainability but more importantly, we want to get kids out of the classroom and deepen their understanding of the world.”

During the 2023-24 school year, selected students will work either together or independently to create an action project. This action project will have a direct impact on the school or local community. Selected students will work with members of both the MFS and local community to help create a sustainable future.

 There is, however, a long application process to participate in the summit. de la Torre explained that “The first stage of the selection process includes a blind read, where we won’t know the students’ identities. The second stage is where we will talk to teachers who know the students to give us a better idea of who they are as a person. Finally, the 3rd stage is a Quaker practice where we will come to an agreement on the selected students.”

Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor, much of the cost of the trip has already been paid for. Summit participants will only pay a flat fee of $1,500. The cost includes entry fees to various sites, breakfast and dinner daily, round-trip international airfare, double or triple occupancy hotel rooms, local transportation, incidental expenses, and souvenirs. de la Torre went on to say that “with the donor’s support, it gives everyone a fair chance to participate.”