The association — Rome, since 2011
Who we are
The Young Ambassadors Society is the Italian non-profit that recruits and prepares the youth delegations for the G7 and G20 engagement groups, in collaboration with the Sherpa Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
What we do
YAS was part of the founding network of the Y7 and Y20 — the groups through which young people bring proposals to G7 and G20 leaders — and has organised the Italian participation ever since.
- Delegations
Every cycle, an open public call selects the Italian delegates to the Y7 and the Y20. YAS prepares them and follows the process through to the Final Communiqué. Delegations also attend UN fora: the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, the COP climate conferences, the World Food Forum at FAO.
How delegations work →- Summits
When Italy holds the presidency, YAS chairs the engagement group and organises the summit itself: Y7 Rome 2017, Y20 Milan 2021, Y7 Rome 2024.
The most recent: Y7 Italy 2024 →- Programs
The Global Youth Leaders Program brings over a hundred young leaders a year into thematic workshops and Policy Labs; the proposals that come out of them go to the G7 Presidency. Co-funded by the European Union through Erasmus+.
- Documents
Every process ends on paper: final communiqués, policy papers, post-summit debriefs. They are public, and they live in the events archive.
Browse the archive →
The story, 2011–2023
The events archive covers 2024 to today. This is what came before, in short.
2011
Founded in Rome
Alberta Pelino, then a 19-year-old student, founds YAS with peers from universities across Italy. The first delegates leave the same year, for the Y8 and Y20 summits in Paris.
2012–2013
Student diplomacy
Delegations at the Y8 in Washington and London and the Y20 in Mexico and Russia, as the Italian committee of the G8 & G20 Youth Network. At home, round tables with institutions.
2015
Y20 Antalya
A delegation at the Y20 under the Turkish G20 Presidency. The delegate of that year, Edoardo Cilla, still serves on the team.
2017
First chairmanship: Y7 Rome
Under the Italian G7 Presidency, YAS organises and chairs the G7 youth summit in Rome, and hands its Final Communiqué to the Presidency.
2018–2019
Delegations, every cycle
Delegates at the Y7 in Canada and Paris and the Y20 in Argentina and Tokyo. The #RoadToG20Italy consultation opens in five languages; its report on youth priorities goes to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Foreign Ministry.
2021
Y20 Italy, Milan
The first Y20 ever hosted by Italy, chaired by YAS under the G20 Italian Presidency: national consultations, working groups with the G20 ministerial tracks, and a Final Communiqué delivered to the Presidency on the closing day.
2022–2023
Between presidencies
Italian delegations at the Y7 in Germany and Japan and the Y20 in Indonesia and India, selected through calls announced by the Foreign Ministry and relayed by embassies and universities.
2024 → today
The story continues in the archive
Open the events archive →
The team
Sixteen people between Rome, London, Oslo, Brussels, Freiburg, Boston and Hanoi. Most of them arrived the way new members still do: through a delegation.
- AP
Alberta Pelino
Founder and President
- EC
Edoardo Cilla
Y20 delegate 2015 — Antalya
- MP
Marta Pelino
Board Member, since 2015
- SC
Stefano Cilla
Tech infrastructure
- GC
Gabriele Casella
Y20 2023 · track chair, Y7 2024
- AI
Allegra Ianiri
Y20 alumna · track chair, Y7 2024
- AR
Andrea Rosso
Y20 2023 · EU youth delegate, COP28
- GG
Gaia Guadagnini
Y7 2024 delegate · climate team
- GZ
Gaia Zanzi
Y20 2025 delegate — South Africa
- GJ
Ginevra Jesse
GYL 2024 · Y20 2025 delegate
- FP
Francesca Passudetti
Y20 2021 · track chair, Y7 2024
- LL
Lucrezia Lanza
Track chair, Y7 2024
- CP
Chiara Picchi
Social media
- SP
Stefania Paterno
Joined 2024, after COP29
- GDD
Giulia Di Donato
Head of Delegation, Y7 2023
- FB
Fabio Boniolo
Y7 2021 · track chair, Y7 2024