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Elle de Vries and Dessiy Zhang at the Global Youth Institute in Des Moines

Published on
November 13, 2024

The Global Youth Institute (GYI) is a 4-day long international academic conference held by the World Food Prize Foundation. It focuses on global food (in)security issues and the youth efforts addressing the problem. The GYI conference is held every year in October in Des Moines, US. The winners of the Wageningen Youth Institute 2024, Elle de Vries and Dessiy Zhang traveled to the US to participate with students from all over the world. In this article you can read about their experiences.

During the Global Youth Institute (GYI) the World Food Prize (WFP) is also organized. This prize is awarded annually to one or more people in the world who have made a special achievement in improving the quantity, quality or availability of food. These programs partly overlap. As a student you get the opportunity to interact with experts in the field. You will also follow the program designed for youth, where you will participate in fun activities.

leerling activiteit global youth institute

The Global Youth Institute conference is dedicated to roundtable discussions between student delegations and experts to present your essay once again. Besides that we also had different workshops and immersions, in which we could get hands-on experience. For example we participated in the 'plant the moon workshop'. A real astronaut came to talk about the challenges of taking food into space. We then went on to do a workshop that addresses the question: How do we grow food in space?

On the second day we presented our essays. We did this the same way as we did in Wageningen during the Wageningen Youth Institute. We also listened to the Borlaug Dialogue, a conference for experts working in development and agriculture. As the theme of this year's World Food Prize is seeds of opportunity, various speakers also talked about their own experience in agriculture and sustainability. There were multiple keynote speakers including ambassador Terry Branstad, secretary Tom Vilsack, and the 2024 World Food Prize Laureates Dr. Cary Fowler and Dr. Geoffrey Hawtin. During the evenings there were also plenty of opportunities to network with students, professionals and leaders from around the globe.

Borlaug Dialogue Global Youth Institute

The third day we visited the Borlaug Dialogue again, this time we also had an extensive lunch where you sit at the table with the experts! On this day we also participated in a meal packing event, the goal was to make as many food packages as possible. We also
visited the Hall of Laureates, a beautiful building where the World Food Prize was previously awarded.

To conclude the program, there was a party in the evening. The laureates, Cary Fowler and Geoffrey Hawtin, came by during the party.

Hall of Laureates Global Youth Institute

About her experience at the Global Youth Institute Dessiy says “This experience was incredibly insightful and inspiring. Through the speeches of all those incredible people I learned so much about agriculture and sustainability in science, industry and policy. It never seemed to matter much before, but I realized there how huge and complicated the subject of agriculture is, from GMOs to policymakers in the industry. I was enlightened on the importance of crop and genetic variety and genebanks for seeds. It amazed me to see all these different people from around the whole world devote their lives to this field. After hearing and meeting so many speakers I felt inspired and enlightened with new insights from a previously almost unknown subject to me. There were also some subjects that interested me to such an extent that I now have a whole new field of possible careers.

Global Youth Institute world food prize foundation

In conclusion, this event was an astounding experience for me as a student. It opened new doors for me and was really inspiring due to all the stories from the speakers. Additionally, I learned an overwhelming amount of new insights about food security, agriculture and sustainability.“

Want to have a chance on visiting the Global Youth Institute yourself? Write a Global Challenge essay!

Elle wrote “The presentation of your essay is together with other students at a round table and lasts only 3 minutes. The rest of the day you follow a program that includes, for example, a campus tour of Wageningen. Visiting Wageningen University is a fun experience in itself, so if you are interested in food supply or social issues, sign up! After I won, the trip to the United States was fully reimbursed. In Des Moines I also had free time to do fun things with my coordinators. For example, we visited the state capitol of Iowa and went out to eat together! You will also have plenty of time to socialize with your peers during the program. You meet people from the US, but also from Sweden, Honduras and China.”

Dessiy adds “The opportunity to attend as a student was presented to me after I -alongside another student (Elle)- won the essay competition held by the Wageningen Youth Institute this May (2024). The essay competition included two parts, a written research paper and an in person presentation at Wageningen University.

The research paper had to be about a country of your own choice, and a concerning problem occurring there. After exploring the topic we then came up with a solution that addresses the chosen issue. Once the papers were handed in we were divided into roundtable groups, to which we’d present to in May. The presentation consisted of a pitch -explaining your country and solution- and a discussion afterwards. There were also experts at the table who’d give feedback after the pitch and participate in the discussion.”