Developing a student sustainability leadership symposium for your region

The Student Sustainability Leadership Symposium (SSLS) is a one-day event focused on students sharing information, formally through programs and informally through round-table discussions.

Started as the Eco-Reps Symposium at Tufts University in 2014, the model has adapted and changed over time, allowing for access to more and different students beyond the traditional eco-representative, residentially-focused. We have witnessed the evolution of institutional programming and now are looking at intersectional change agents where students in our region have a broad range of interests and connections.

We will demonstrate how to build a simple coalition across a geographic region for student leadership development that is stewarded by sustainability professional staff. We will share the timing needed by the coordinating staff, budget, and other timelines to ensure a successful event.

There is a potential for several regions to time their symposiums together and share a keynote speaker via remote broadcast.

The program is designed to showcase student presentations that are highlighting student research and projects. It allows for
outreach within both within your institution (researchers, activists and practitioners) your region and your region. It also highlights sustainability as a career path as we mentor the next generation of professionals. We also see a tie in with future studies as the graduate level even if not at your institution.

We will discuss how to finance this as well as the potential
role AASHE can/might play in supporting a regional model for student summits.