Five students from École Olds High School are attending the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) student conference this week.   

The conference is being held in Toronto and is focused on “Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change.”  

Students were invited based on the interest they have expressed and will be asked to create a project that will impact their community when they come home.   

“Students tend to come home from this conference ready to get to work and help others,” said Bev Toews, Academic Coach and Indigenous Liaison at Olds High School. “The experience gives them the power to do something about an issue of concern, and they see how they can make a difference.”  

Grade 9 student Ashton Bird said they are looking forward to attending “The Cost of Fast Fashion” session at the conference.   

“We are constantly inundated with brands and companies that want us to buy clothes all the time. It would be great if we could go back to buying more intentionally. I’m interested to see how the current trend in retro fashion will influence this,” Bird said.  

Ross Sadlemyer, a Grade 10 student said he is looking forward to the Responsibility and Action from an Indigenous Perspective session and wants to learn more about what other students are doing in their schools.   

“We are excited for our students to have this experience,” said Meaghan Reist, Olds High School Principal, “Whenever students can connect with an area of passion, school becomes more engaging and relevant. We anticipate some great ideas from our students on their return.”