Ritikaa Gumpta, Stephan Atkinson, Janessa- Michelle Purcell, and Fabio Parisi at the Empower Mountain Youth Session.
On Sunday September 14, 2025, the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at Utah Valley University (UVU), in collaboration with the Mountain Youth Hub hosted a special plenary event at the International Mountain Conference organized by the University of Innsbruck Austria. Through the Student Engaged Learning (SEL) model, UIMF participated in the special session focusing on “Empowering Mountain Youth” by highlighting current initiatives, advocacy work, and recognizing youth involvement in progressing Sustainable Mountain Development.
Former UIMF President and current Kings College PhD student, Stephan Atkinson, co-moderating the session.
The special session highlighting the engagements of mountain youth was formatted in a panelist style forum, where panelists like myself shared remarks, after the opening of the session by Stephan Atkinson, former UIMF president and Ritikaa Gumpta, co-founder of the Mountain Youth Hub acted as moderators for the event. Tashi Lhazom, is a member of the Mountain Youth Hub and a filmmaker in Nepal. Tashi provided insight to the work youth advocates are leading throughout the world but especially in Nepal as the rising generation is impacted by global climate change. Nicolas Gohlam, a founding member of the Mountain Youth Hub, who received a Masters of Science from the American University of Beirut, shared the stigma against “learned helplessness” that plague mountain youth that prevents them from being engaged in mountain conversation. The closing of remarks was provided by Fabio Parisi, Junior consultant of the Mountain Partnership. After all remarks concluded the floor was open for comments and questions and a time to make connections with other youth who were in attendance.
UIMF President, Janessa- Michelle Purcell speaks as a panelist for Mountain Youth voices.
As the current UIMF club president, I had the honor of representing UIMF, UVU, the History and Political Science Department at this International Mountain Conference. I represented the mountain youth here in Utah and the youth in the small island nations and the similar challenges they face with isolation of these communities (mountains and small island nations), that creates barriers for youth with the lack of infrastructure for consistent economic growth and stability. My presentation centered on drawing the parallels of mountain communities and the small island nations. This connection between mountain communities and the small island nations is an important topic for me because I was born and raised on O’ahu, Hawai’i and moved to Utah for school. Having lived in both environments I recognized the shared challenges and impacts of climate change in both places. By combining these environments for this initiative, I am able to combine my passion for representing my culture of the Pacific small island nations with the love I have for the state that has given me the opportunity to further my education.
Ritikaa Gumpta and Tashi Lhazom share about the Mountain Youth Hub.
I also shared an overview of the research project McKay Jones and I had presented at Oxford this past July. With Utah’s mountainous topography it naturally traps pollutants and exacerbates the bad air quality in Utah more specifically in West Salt Lake. This research project was important to display how imperative the incorporation of a student-engaged learning model into the classroom is to the professional development of college students, to give them hands-on experiences to address real life challenges with mentorship from faculty members. The SEL model gives introduction to get youth and college students more involved in professional settings preparing them for future pursuits. As unofficial internships, these experiences are pivotal for shaping youth minds and opening doors they probably did not think was possible. My attendance at this international conference is just a testament of pushing barriers as college students and not being pidgeonholed into a box because we are not yet qualified or lack experience. I have learned from this trip to Austria that sometimes we must force opportunities to gain this experience we need for future careers.
Janessa- Michelle Purcell answering a question from the session.
This special plenary event provided a platform for mountain youth voices that often are underrepresented at these conferences. The underrepresentation is due to the lack of resources, opportunities, and funding for youth to be physically present. With the Mountain Youth Hub, youth all across the globe participate in various initiatives to help promote the agenda of the mountains. To bring awareness of the effects of climate change across the world and to recognize that although they are left out of the conversation, mountain youth are still contributing to solutions in various ways. In our own communities we are still making progress in any way we can and because of these efforts we were able to help bring the youth mountain agenda to this International mountain conference to broaden the horizons of research and engage with youth participation.
International Mountain Conference hosted at the University of Innsbruck.
After our presentation on Sunday, over the next few days of the conference I took the time to attend different presentations that address various mountain research. Some of those presentations included ‘Youth Needs Analysis in Bergama Mountain Villages (Izmir/ Turkey) and Tourism’s Place in Sustainable Future Awareness’, ‘The Rise of Digitally-Enabled Mountain Research’,’Grounded in high places; Mountains, people and sustainability in action’. My favorite presentation was ‘Highlands on Islands’: Developing a conceptual approach to the study of sustainability in mountainous islands presented by the University of the Highlands and Islands in the UK. This presentation spoke to the mountainous islands that often get lost in the conversation of mountain areas. I took a particular interest as it combines both of my aspects of my sustainable mountain development initiatives. After the presentation, I had the chance to speak with Mr Bobby Macauley who is a research associate for the Centre for Mountain Studies in the UK. As I shared my research and my interest with mountain communities and the small island nations, he invited me to apply for the Sustainable Mountain Development program at the University of the Highlands and Islands, UK.
University of the Highlands and Islands presentation on mountainous islands.
Attending this conference had expanded my perspective of what I thought I could accomplish as an undergraduate student at UVU, but also allowed me to see the world of possibilities within reach. I had no idea that in choosing to attend UVU, the world would truly become my oyster. While my focus has always been matters of the ocean, my continued work and leadership with UIMF has shown me that mountain matters are just as important. Together ocean matters and mountain matters are stronger together as a collective to address their similar challenges and issues. Participating in this conference as an undergraduate student was an opportunity I had not anticipated. I have come away from this experience with an expanded network within the mountain research committee, having met people like Mr Bobby Macaulay, Sophie Huss, a PhD student fromMichigan State University, Noah Powell, a graduate research assistant at the University of Oklahoma.
Janessa- Michelle Purcell holding the UVU flag on the Innsbruck bridge.
This experience would not have been possible without the support from UVU, The College of Humanities and Social Sciences, UVU’s Office of Global Engagements, the Mountain Youth Hub, and the Mountain Partnership of the United Nations. I express my deepest gratitude to these organizations for this very special opportunity.
