What is VILC
The Vancouver Island Leadership Conference (VILC) hosts post-secondary students across British Columbia for an event of keynotes and strength-building workshops to inspire future leaders. This year's theme, along with the subthemes, aims to explore the three pillars of sustainability in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the vital role of innovative initiatives in shaping a sustainable and thriving future.
The 2025 Conference
Navigating Sustainability
Economic Sustainability
Economic sustainability focuses on creating systems and practices that foster long-term financial stability, innovation, and equitable growth. It involves finding the balance between meeting today’s needs and preserving resources for future generations.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is about safeguarding the natural world while addressing the pressing challenges of climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss.
Social Sustainability
Social sustainability highlights the need to build societies that value inclusion, equity, and well-being. It examines how we can address systemic inequalities, promote cultural preservation, and ensure access to fundamental rights such as education, healthcare, and housing.
Say hello to new friends and experiences.
The Office of Co-Curricular Engagement and Learning aims to provide delegates with the opportunity to exercise co-curricular learning within the community. Since 2022, we have introduced a new component to the conference: the Community Career Expo, an opportunity to network and meet potential employers across Vancouver Island.
Inspiring Future Leaders.
Watch our 2023 VILC same-day-edit recap video!
Past Conferences
10th Annual VILC (2018)
Presented by Sim’s Real Estate Group
The 10th annual VILC’s theme is “Empower the Everyday.” The VILC Organizing Team highlights the themes meaning to the idea that individuals and teams can do when they work with positivity, thoughtfulness, collaboration and towards a common goal. You can empower the everyday. The conference will provide students with the opportunity to participate in skills-based workshops, interact with keynote speakers (including Facebook), and network with various local business professionals. With the use of these mechanisms, we believe that students will gain graduate attributes such as collaboration, active learning, integrative learning, and foundations for lifelong learning.
Past Conferences
11th Annual VILC (2019)
Presented by Sim’s Real Estate Group
The 11th annual VILC’s theme Explore - Discover - Inspire. The notion of Explore - Discover - Inspire relates to the idea of young leaders' ability to be self-reflective and to define what leadership means in respect to each individual in applying the importance of these concepts to their endeavours. The focus was to help conference participants to discover and develop leadership skills through experiencing different activities, meeting other like-minded individuals, participating in skill-based workshop excursions that send them out to various community businesses in diverse fields whilst networking with various local business professionals.
Past Conferences
12th Annual VILC (2020)
Presented by Panago Pizza
The 12th Annual Vancouver Island Leadership conference’s theme Brilliant Minds, Resilient Leaders. The notion of Resilient Minds, Brilliant Leaders relates to leadership from a youth resiliency and support to mental health perspective. This virtual conference ran for the month of June with each week focusing on different subtopics that included a virtual Yoga session and a keynote from Charlene Bearhead an Indigenous Education advocate who works closely with the Moose Hide Campaign.
Past Conferences
13th Annual VILC (2021)
Presented by Panago Pizza
VILC 2021 participants were challenged with thoughts and actions surrounding the topic of ‘Igniting Change’. Our mission was to provide students the foundation and tools needed to create a better community through leadership locally, nationally, and globally. Together they shared their personal journeys with change and how they grew stronger in their reflections on the experiences. These speaker series events were paired with community action projects where our VILC Team alongside other participants took action to positively influence their community on a local, national, and global level.
Past Conferences
14th Annual VILC (2022)
Presented by Panago Pizza
The 2022 conference theme was “Leading the Future - Together”. Our theme worked to engage delegates in building their connection with self, others, earth, and culture and highlighted the importance of working together to lead a better tomorrow. During the conference, delegates got the opportunity to learn more about the sub-themes through various excursions and keynote speakers. These excursions took the form of visits to local organizations and cultural sites that demonstrated the importance of the themes in action. In addition, keynote speakers shared their personal experiences and expertise on the sub-themes, providing valuable insights and inspiration for delegates. Through these excursions and keynote speeches, delegates gained a deeper understanding of the importance of building connections with self, others, earth, and culture, and how these connections can lead to a better future for all.
Past Conferences
15th Annual VILC (2023)
Presented by the Office of Co-Curricular Engagement & Learning
The 2023 conference embraced the theme "Integrity, Inclusion, and Innovation" to inspire and empower attendees to forge a more equitable, inclusive, and forward-thinking future. This theme was meticulously chosen to underscore the significance of ethical leadership, embracing diversity in all its forms, and leveraging innovation for societal betterment. Throughout the event, participants had the privilege of exploring these pivotal sub-themes through a variety of engaging formats. Interactive sessions, workshops, and immersive excursions were thoughtfully organized to offer a hands-on understanding of how integrity, inclusion, and innovation manifest in real-world settings. Participants left the event equipped with new knowledge, perspectives, and a renewed commitment to driving positive change in their communities and beyond.
Student Leaders
Maeva Guyonnet
Chairperson
Maeva Guyonnet, is a second-year student in the Master of Sustainable Leisure Management, originally from Toulouse, France. Since her first semester, she has been actively engaged with the Office of Co-Curricular Engagement and Learning (OCCEL). Maeva is deeply passionate about sustainability and is focusing her thesis on the impacts of tourism on local communities. She also has a strong interest in event planning and enjoys building connections with key community partners to create meaningful and enriching experiences.
Mufiz Ahmed
Vice Chairperson
Community, Connections, and Volunteering are what define Mufiz Ahmed. She views volunteering as a meaningful way to connect and strengthen networks. She is a Human Resource professional currently in her second year of an MBA at Vancouver Island University, where she has earned a place on the Dean’s Honor List and was featured as a Spotlight Student for her achievements as a standout MBA student from the 2023-2025 cohort. She manifested her first job in Canada through the rewarding experience of volunteering and networking. Her favorite experience is working with the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, for the signature event of Commercial Street Night Market. Outside of her work and studies, she enjoys relaxing through cooking and finds joy in the positive energy of her crystal collection.
