Leadership Collective 2026
Theme: Climate Citizenship
Each year, the Leadership Collective focuses on a theme that connects global youth leadership with pressing global issues, particularly climate change.
In 2025, our theme was Climate Citizenship, exploring how young people can take meaningful action to combat climate challenges.
We believe empowering youth with the skills and confidence to drive change equips them to become active and impactful global citizens.
2026 Edition Spotlight
Meet the 2026 Cohort
Travel Toes creates immersive experiences tailored to your passions—whether that’s languages, social justice, history, or environmental action.
This isn’t typical tourism. You’ll learn from experts, live with local families, and connect with students from around the world. Every journey is customized. Every moment is intentional. Every experience transforms
Twenty days.
Four cities. One route.
Delhi to Ahmedabad to Bengaluru and back — classrooms, forests, stepwells, boardrooms and one very famous mausoleum. Follow the cohort day by day.
Chapter 01 · Jul 8 – 11
Delhi
Welcome + Orientation
Kick-off session welcoming the cohort and briefing everyone on program goals, house rules, and the weeks ahead.
Red Fort + Spice Market + Jama Masjid, lunch at Karim’s
Guided walk through Old Delhi covering the Mughal-era Red Fort and Jama Masjid, weaving through the spice market, with lunch at the iconic Karim’s.
Sundar Nursery
Evening visit to a restored 16th-century Mughal-era heritage park and botanical garden near Humayun’s Tomb.
KPMG Visit
Talk on corporate sustainability practices.
Lodhi Art District
Walking tour of Delhi’s open-air street art district in Lodhi Colony, featuring murals by artists from around the world.
Mud House
Visit to Mud House, an earthy, sustainability-themed café and space known for its eco-conscious design, run by a couple.
Ceramics Workshop
Hands-on pottery and ceramics session where students learn traditional shaping and glazing techniques.
Dilli Haat
Free-time visit to an open-air crafts bazaar and food market showcasing India’s regional cuisine and handicrafts.
Packing
Free time set aside for students to pack ahead of departure to Ahmedabad.
Chapter 02 · Jul 12 – 18
Ahmedabad
Arrival
Flight arrival in Ahmedabad and transfer to the hotel.
Orientation Session
Introduction to the program, objectives, expectations, and participant introductions.
Sports Activity
Team-building games to help the cohort bond.
Introduction to Climate Change India (CEE)
Foundational talk by the Centre for Environment Education breaking down core climate science and India-specific climate challenges.
Adalaj Ni Vaav
Visit to Adalaj Stepwell, a 15th-century stepwell showcasing ancient Indian water-conservation architecture.
Traditional Gujarati Dinner at Vishala
Cultural dinner at a heritage village-style restaurant serving traditional Gujarati cuisine and showcasing rural Gujarat traditions.
Nature Trek in the Aravalli Range (Polo Forest)
Guided nature trek through a community-managed forest reserve known for its biodiversity.
Heritage Walk, Old City
Walking tour through Ahmedabad’s old city, exploring its traditional pols (neighborhoods) and UNESCO World Heritage-listed architecture.
Recycling in Urban Space — Indian Recycle Office
Visit to a local recycling initiative in Ahmedabad to understand urban waste management and conscious consumption.
Climate Change and Urban India (CFID)
Session exploring how climate change is reshaping Indian cities.
Workshop: Cities Adapting to Climate Change
Interactive workshop where students explore and propose ways cities can adapt to climate change.
Water Harvesting Plant at L.D. College
Field visit to a water harvesting facility at L.D. College of Engineering to see rainwater harvesting systems in practice.
Visiting Adani HQ
A talk on corporate sustainability practices.
Understanding Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela
Visit to Sabarmati Ashram, Gandhi’s former residence, exploring his philosophy of nonviolence alongside the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mandela.
Nelson Mandela Day — Local School Visit + 67 Minutes of Service
Community service day including a local school visit and 67 minutes of volunteer service, echoing Mandela’s 67 years of activism.
Garba Night — Farewell Party and Celebration
Festive farewell evening featuring Garba, Gujarat’s traditional folk dance.
Chapter 03 · Jul 19 – 25
Bengaluru
Arrival
Flight arrival in Bengaluru and direct transfer to the farm house visit.
Kalakari Capital — Farm House Visit
Explore traditional home farming practices.
Cultural Sensitivity Session
360Plus leader-led session on navigating cultural differences respectfully.
Veolia Facility & CSR School Visit
Tour of a Veolia waste and water management facility paired with a visit to a school supported by Veolia’s CSR program.
Solve Bootcamp (Reap Benefit)
Hands-on civic problem-solving bootcamp run by Reap Benefit, where students tackle local environmental challenges.
Museum of Art & Photography
Interactive science and art exhibits.
Infosys Visit
Experiencing green facilities management practices.
Community Building with Adda and Interns (Reap Benefit)
Interactive session with Reap Benefit’s “Adda” community and interns, focused on peer learning.
Super El Niño Climate Simulation
Interactive simulation exercise modeling the impacts of a Super El Niño event on climate systems.
Nature Walk / Cubbon Park
Guided walk through Cubbon Park, Bengaluru’s large central green space.
Earth5R
An environmental organisation focused on circular economy and community-led sustainability action.
Bengaluru International Centre: Convocation Day
Closing ceremony held at the Bangalore International Centre, marking a milestone in the program.
Celebration Dinner @ Sanchez
A celebratory dinner to mark convocation.
Chapter 04 · Jul 26 – 27
Delhi, again
Arrival
Flight arrival back in Delhi and transfer to the hotel.
Finish Blogs & Assignments
Dedicated time for students to complete their trip blogs and pending assignments.
Taj Mahal
Day trip to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.
Farewell Dinner
Closing dinner and goodbyes.
Twenty days later, 49 students fly home carrying one route — and a hundred ways to change their own cities.
The world was the first classroom.
Before a single boarding pass was printed, the cohort logged into three live sessions, got one deceptively simple homework assignment — look at your own city — and wrote down exactly who they intend to become.
Three online sessions built one shared language for the year's theme. The arc is deliberate: first understand the problem, then study how cities survive it, then decide what you'll do about it.
Session One
The Fundamentals of Climate Change
A fast-paced crash course on the world's greatest "wicked problem" — the science behind it, its environmental, social and economic dimensions, and how mitigation differs from adaptation. Students asked sharp questions from the very first slide.
Session Two
Sustainable & Resilient Infrastructure
From understanding climate change to designing places that can live with it. Through a risk activity rooted in their own lives, students unpacked hazard, exposure and vulnerability — and studied real-world resilient architecture, from traditional building wisdom to modern urban design.
Session Three
Addressing Climate Change & Actioning Transformation
The final session moved past causes and impacts to the only question that matters: now what? Nature-based solutions, climate technologies, and policy, education, finance and social movements as levers of change — ending with each student reflecting on their own role in it all.
No single solution is a panacea — so the cohort learned to carry the whole toolbox.
One assignment before the Infrastructure session: find one feature in your hometown that keeps people safe and comfortable — something you've walked past a hundred times. The cohort turned ordinary architecture into evidence of everyday problem-solving. Tap a flag to travel.
& verified
by LC26
Courtyards that are open to the sky
Hot air rises out, cool air drifts in, and sunlight streams down — cutting the need for electric lighting entirely.
Filed by Vartika
← → also works on a keyboard · a small selection of the cohort's work
The "Knowing Thyself & Dreaming" assignment asked each student where they want to go and who they want to be — and their answers now shape how facilitators run the programme itself. No one-size-fits-all. The cohort wrote its own brief.
From Now → To The wildest dreams
"LC 2026 will connect me with people who can help me achieve my wildest dreams."
Kyren · on why they joined
From Now → To A living planet
"I should play a part in saving our planet's resources for a more sustainable future."
Paloma · on why they joined
From Now → To Real-world problems, solved
"I want to become a software engineer and build a career solving real-world problems."
Tharun · destination declared
From Now → To Helping people
"Medicine, audiology, or mathematics — because I enjoy helping people and solving problems."
Sibongile · destination declared
From Now → To Humans + Earth, on speaking terms
"A peaceful life inspiring better relationships between humans and their environments."
Jonas · destination declared
From Now → To Everyone at the table
"I love to make people feel heard and included."
Kimberly · superpower on record
Voices from the cohort
Before a single flight was booked, The Fifty had already introduced themselves — in application essays, one very lively group chat, and conversations on their own doorsteps. Here's what they sounded like.
The application never ranked achievement. It asked one open question — and caught who these students are when nobody's grading them.
"Genuine exchange begins when people stop trying to explain one another too quickly and allow difference to breathe."
Cielo Bustamante Cieza · Peru
"It is not about where you are from, but about where you feel accepted."
Joythi Priya · India
"I don't just want to be an engineer who builds machines; I want to be a contributor to climate resilience."
Humera Ali
"I have a sincere care for our environment, and I firmly stand against its destruction."
Ziya Bhat
The icebreaker was three prompts on WhatsApp: your name, your community, and someone you look up to. Half the cohort named a public figure. The other half named someone standing right next to them.
One thing I like to call myself is the unstoppable passionate walking cat 🐈
10:42People here don't wait for opportunities — they create them.
10:47She always gives her kids the world... nothing is given but earned. 🤍
10:53Regardless of his past, he continues to strive to be the best version of himself.
11:01One assignment. One rule: put the phone down and talk to someone in your own neighborhood about the climate. Many knocked on the closest door of all — family.
HOME
A mother's houseplants
"We should take care of our planet because the earth is the only one God gave us."
— Diana Jimenez, interviewed by her son Alfred Lopez-Jimenez
THE
GARDEN
A grandmother's garden
"This garden taught me responsibility, and how to care about what I put in my body."
— Lisa Barts, interviewed by her grandson Corey Mikula
GHANA
A teacher's five words
"If we waste the Earth, we waste our future."
— Mr. Stephen N. Y. Essandoh, interviewed by Olivia Mbroh
THE
COHORT
What it actually taught
"This was more of learning about different communities rather than an assignment."
— Suhana Parvin, reflecting on the exercise