PPE student Loshini attended the Y7 Summit in Japan in 2023, with support from the PPE programme. The Y7 Summit is an international conference for youth leaders representing their own countries. As the official engagement group of the G7 and G20 Summits, Y7 and Y20 Summits are held annually, hosted or supported by the host country of the G7 and G20 Summits. Youth under 40 from a diverse background, such as researchers, government officials, and students, convene ahead of G7 and G20 Summits and make policy recommendations by submitting the communique to G7 and G20. Y7 & Y20 Summits aim to propose solutions to various challenges faced by today’s international community by promoting mutual understanding among youth at the forefront of the world.

Loshini and the Y7 team successfully completed their communique and presented it to the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida.

Loshini says:

As the UK economy delegate I aimed to target the needs of young people amidst the cost of living crisis and an increasing lack of employability. Alongside delegates from across the G7 countries we integrated these needs and also considered the importance of sustainability and working towards a circular economy. Additionally, we considered the digital transition and more general transition of employment and agreed that entrepreneurship could play a key role in this.

The negotiation process was an invaluable experience and we were up till 1am on some nights debating these issues! More generally, the Japanese presidency provided us with a trip to Hiroshima where we visited the Peace Memorial Museum and heard from an A-bomb survivor. This was an eye-opening visit that taught me the extensive and intergenerational impact of nuclear arms on people, communities, the environment and the entire country. I hope the G7 leaders attending the summit in Hiroshima bear witness to the importance of disarmament and the role of international relations in this. Finally, the presidency made an overwhelming effort to give us exposure to Japanese culture from the food to music and theatre to the people as we had opportunities to engage and consult with Japanese youth.

This was an incredible opportunity and I have the position for the year to hopefully implement and lobby the proposed policy recommendations. I really hope students from Warwick and across the UK apply and access such an opportunity and I am more than happy to write an article or submit some writing on this experience for the department. The opportunity is open to 18-30 year olds so first years through to alumni could attend.”