Survivor power and resilience in uncertain times

Date – Wednesday, 16 September
Time – 14:40 – 15:20
Location – Auditorium 0B

The global youth travel sector and international exchange are navigating unprecedented headwinds: from geopolitical conflict and economic friction to tightening border policies. Jerry White offers a framework for collective resilience in the face of conflict and uncertainty. Drawing on his journey as a 20-year-old student who survived a landmine explosion while studying in Israel, Jerry delivers an emotionally powered testimony and roadmap to how to overcome life’s explosions en route to sharing the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997.

Reframing traditional “soft skills” into raw survivor power, Jerry challenges delegates to look past short-term uncertainty and embrace a 5-step playbook grounded in survivor psychology: Face Facts, Choose Life, Reach Out, Get Moving, and Give Back. This keynote will explore how individual providers from across our fragmented industry, working together, form the vital infrastructure to build human potential for peace and prosperity across borders and cultures.

Jerry will challenge each and every one of us to practice humane leadership, transforming victimhood into survivorship and flourishing. He issues a direct challenge to the WYSTC community: join the coalition to mobilise one million stories into collective impact. Delegates are invited to record and share their individual stories directly at the Made Impact booth throughout the conference. One by one, these lived experiences become a unified advocacy force—building an undeniable case that international education and exchange are an irreplaceable global driver for peace, prosperity, and human flourishing.