Youth Leadership
Extraordinary summer camp programmes for young people aged 16 - 30 to help inspire their sense of purpose, develop their leadership skills, support their understanding of global issues and empower their contribution to the world
June 2026
Summer Camps for Young People
It’s a tough time to navigate the world as a young person. The threats of AI to job security and building your career, to finding your place in a world of tumult and economic instability, to building the necessary skills of creativity, resilience and entrepreneurialism to forge a ‘portfolio’ life, it’s never been more important to have the support and inspiration to launch out onto the world stage and play your own unique role.
Our founder, Caroline Watson, is passionate about supporting young people on their journey to self-discovery and knows a thing or two personally about the mental and physical barriers that can often threaten to stand in the way of you finding your own voice. As a young person with creative and artistic dreams, and a strong streak of entrepreneurialism, she had to navigate the ups and downs of forging a unique path in the world, often facing opposition from those around her in following her dreams.
Caroline believes that the current challenges we are facing in the world offer an opportunity for young people to lead in unique and compelling ways, whilst also building the necessary entrepreneurial skills to navigate huge uncertainty in the future of work. With courage and conviction, Caroline will inspire you to realise you are in control of your own destiny and have you leaving the camp fully believing in your potential for an amazing life!
You will come away with these tangible outputs
An introduction to the human-centered, 21st century skills of creative thinking and resilience, cross-cultural competence, flexibility and agility, leadership and social influence, curiosity and lifelong learning, that you will need to navigate the future and what you can do to continually learn and improve on those skills throughout your life
A deeper knowledge and appreciation of how important an entrepreneurial mindset is going to be for the future of work and what you can do to build your entrepreneurial ‘muscle’ to be prepared - seeking out opportunities, leading your own path and taking leadership over your career
An understanding of your ‘artistic’ and creative voice, whether that’s literally navigating a creative career, or using the tools of an artist to let go and be comfortable with uncertainty, ambiguity and change, to feel empowered and inspired to imagine a different future as the ‘architect’ of a beautiful life.
Support to take charge of your mental health and well-being, a deeper awareness of the enormous potential you hold within yourself and the self-confidence and belief to know you can achieve anything you set out to do
Tools to give you agency over your future and the direction of our world, being an ‘activist’ for the changes we need to see
A practical roadmap for the next steps in your life and career, with the leadership skills to communicate clearly what you want and have to offer
Solid skills in website development, confident communication and presentation sills, personal branding and storytelling, and an understanding of how to use social media in a productive and empowered way to build your personal and professional presence
A CV or resume of your skills and vision for your career that could be used in interviews etc, as well as a website and social media plan
Practice in interview technique and how to project authority and confidence to enable you to be taken seriously as a professional
And, of course, having had a restorative and regenerating rest in a beautiful location that will feed your soul and remind you of the awe and majesty of the natural world!
The programme involves a community engagement component, where participants work with a local school or charity to create a piece of theatre on the topic of youth leadership and the challenges young people are facing today.
This acts as a way to get practical experience in leadership, coaching and mentoring others, as well as helps participants understand their unique skills to be put to practical use in solving the challenges of the world and make a contribution to local communities too.
There is then a performance staged on the final night of the programme (Friday of the 2nd week) that invites local members in the surrounding Béarn region to learn more about the issues discussed.
Welcome to Clos de Gaye!
Clos de Gaye (pronounced ‘guy’) means ‘Place of Joy’ and it is at once a private home, a residential retreat, a creative and artistic workspace, organic farm, community kitchen, restaurant and tea house, and a convening ground for global leaders, artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and all those charged with the care and governance of our planet. Think of it as the meeting point between the Bloomsbury set’s Charleston and Camp David. It is a place to stay, to play, to share and to transform our world.
The spirit of Clos de Gaye is one of contribution, generosity and accountability. Those that have a seat of the table have arrived there through hard work and a genuine desire to be of service to the world. Time spent here is for you to reflect on what has been achieved so far and to be a springboard into future leadership and the continued desire to be a force for good in the world.
Deep in the heart of the French countryside, embedded in the ‘old world’ rises a new way of thinking about the future. The best of European heritage, beauty and aesthetic, with interiors from all over the world, reflecting our founder’s upbringing in Asia, and bringing energy, dynamism and a sense of inclusion of the new world.
An opportunity to reclaim the very best of European culture and values, with a renewed way of thinking about its relationship with the rest of the world, restoring humanity to everyone.
Accommodation will be provided in our luxury bell tents on the Clos de Gaye estate, complete with futon-style beds and personal touches. With access to toilets and shower rooms in the main house, and compostable toilets for midnight trips!
All meals are prepared using fresh, local, and often organic ingredients, sourced either from our cottage garden or from local providers in the Béarn and Basque regions. Halal, kosher or other dietary needs can be catered for on request.
Our spaces are unique, artistic and soulful.
All retreats and high-impact summits are lead by Caroline Watson, visionary founder of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, and the Global Arts Impact Agenda. An award-winning entrepreneur, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos) and a talented performer herself, using the arts to effect large-scale social change across the world, Caroline is the owner of Clos de Gaye and a masterful hostess and creator of extraordinary experiences.
Caroline Watson, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, Harvard, Yale, INSEAD, Oxford
Coach and leadership development expert to global heads of state, corporate executives and world leaders.
Unfolding your leadership potential
Caroline will be joined by a group of facilitators with backgrounds in the arts, youth leadership, careers development and storytelling to help you sculpt a clear vision and roadmap for your future.
The full list of facilitators will be added in the coming weeks.
Sample Weekly Schedule
-
Sunday
Arrival in Pau and transfer to Clos de Gaye
Getting to know you: Introduction to The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, Clos de Gaye, and to each other
Team-building games
Dinner at Clos de Gaye
-
Monday
8am Breakfast
9am Transfer to community site
10am to 12pm Community workshop: Getting to know you
12pm Brown bag lunch and debrief
1pm Transfer to Clos de Gaye
2pm Finding Your Vision and Purpose
4pm Afternoon tea
4.30pm Free time
7pm Dinner and Games Night
-
Tuesday
8am Breakfast
10am - 12pm Community workshop: “Frozen Pictures” and Images of Transformation
1pm Lunch
2 - 4pm Lifelong Learning and 21st Century Skills
4pm Afternoon tea
4.30pm Free time
7pm Dinner and Evening Talk
-
Wednesday
8am Breakfast
10am - 12pm Community Workshop: Group Character Creation
12pm Transfer back to Clos de Gaye
1pm Lunch
2 - 4pm Entrepreneurship and the Future of Work
4pm Transfer to Pau for visit to the Chateau of Pau
Free time in Pau
8pm Dinner in Pau
-
Thursday
8am Breakfast
10am - 12pm Community Workshop: Scenario Building Part 1
1pm Lunch
2- 4pm Leadership and Facilitation Skills
4pm Afternoon Tea
4.30 pm Free Time
7pm Dinner and Movie Night
-
Friday
8am Breakfast
9am Transfers
10am - 12pm Community Workshop: Scenario Building Part 2
12pm Transfers
1pm Lunch at Clos de Gaye
2 - 4pm Confident Communication and Presentation Skills
4pm Afternoon Tea
4.30pm Free Time
7pm Dinner and Campfire
-
Saturday
Hiking the Pic du Midi d’Ossau
Picnic Lunch
Evening BBQ
-
Sunday
Day Trip to the Basque Coast
Beach Picnic
Pizza dinner
Getting Here
From your home to Clos de Gaye
Clos de Gaye is situated less than 20 minutes away from both Pau airport and train station in south west France. We are also 50 minutes away from Tarbes/Lourdes airport. Biarritz, Bordeaux and Toulouse are all between 1 - 2 hours drive or train ride.
In keeping with our vision to have a positive impact on the world, all retreats start and end at Gare Montparnasse in Paris, so you can use train travel to ‘set the scene’ on your extraordinary journey and reduce your carbon footprint. We also kindly ask all international visitors to offset the carbon from their plane travel to Paris through a reputable carbon-offsetting scheme.
We suggest that you aim for a plane or train to arrive in Paris on the morning of the retreat date, and to take the 2pm train from Montparnasse to arrive in time for dinner. Transfers from the train station to Clos de Gaye can be arranged ahead of time and the transfer time takes less than 20 minutes.
Dates
Come together with young people from all over the world to take part in transformative workshops, discussions, performances and experiences that will change the world.
The programme runs from Sunday evening until Saturday morning for two weeks, with day trips to the Pyrénées and the Basque country scheduled for the intervening weekend
June 2026
4995 euros per person for 2 weeks residential camp
Each camp is specially curated and takes no more than 20 young people per cohort. This ensures that we get the right mixture of participants to ensure a satisfying experience for all.
We have a limited number of full and partial scholarships available to those on limited means. Please contact us for details.
14999 euros for year-long online coaching and mentorship, and access to additional tools and community-building to support career and personal development
Investment
Included:
Retreat
All workshops, talks, dinners, and performances at the retreat in March
Your Accommodation in a tent on the Clos de Gaye estate
All your meals
Your day trips to the Pyrénées and the Basque coast
Not included:
Transport to and from Clos de Gaye from your home town, and ground transportation. We can arrange a taxi to pick up and drop off at the beginning and end of the camp for 100 euros per person.
Add ons: Year-long coaching and personal development programme
All the above plus:
Year-long one-to-one, tailored, leadership development programme for each individual with Caroline
Group coaching and networking with rest of your cohort for the 12 month period
Additional learning content for the 12 months surrounding the retreat experience through a micro-learning app (Gnowbe)
As a socially-entrepreneurial for-profit company, choosing to work with The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership creates employment opportunities for artists and creatives, supports low-income and marginalised communities to also take part in extraordinary experiences at Clos de Gaye and elsewhere in the world, so your participation in this retreat also enables others to benefit from the life-transforming effects of our programmes.
This year, we are committing to using the profits of our three main retreats for the building of infrastructure to support a residency programme for migrant and refugee artists. We invite all participants to consider matching this commitment with a philanthropic donation to support the programmatic elements of the residency.
Terms and Conditions
The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership reserves the right to change guest artists and facilitators should circumstances dictate.
All retreat fees are non-refundable. In the event of an unexpected event that is out of the Centre’s control, we will offer you a replacement offer of similar value.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
— Mary Oliver