The “Smile for Future” summit in the city of Lausanne started on August 5, 2019 and brings together youth activists from across Europe for workshops and discussions around the topic of tackling climate change.

More than 450 young people from 38 countries – including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who arrived by train Sunday evening – are expected to attend the week-long summit in the University of Lausanne, which will culminate in a strike on Friday afternoon.

The goal, according to organisers, is to build on the momentum from recent youth climate strikes to force politicians to set more ambitious objectives.

During a news conference on Monday, Thunberg said, “I think this [summit] is a great opportunity for world leaders to show that they have actually listened to us and to the science...Now they will have to prove that”.

To nudge politicians, the activists are launching a European Citizens’ Initiativeexternal link, a relatively new instrument for presenting legislative ideas to the EU Commission in Brussels.