Last October, Elise van den Berg, the winner of the 2023 Wageningen Youth Institute, visited the World Food Prize Foundation. There, she participated in the annual Global Youth Institute (GYI) along with more than 150 other students.
Established in 1986, the World Food Prize Foundation believes that involving young people is crucial for creating a more sustainable world where everyone has access to sufficient and healthy food. The Global Youth Institute of the World Food Prize Foundation is a four-day academic conference for students on global food security. From countries such as the United States, Mexico, Honduras, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands, 150 ambitious students were selected to participate in the GYI.
In addition to participating in interactive workshops and attending the renowned International Borlaug Dialogue sessions, students this year also had the unique opportunity to engage in discussions with international experts during roundtable sessions.
With her research on 'How water pollution affects food security in rural Ecuador,' Elise van den Berg from Greijdanus College in Hardenberg had won the Wageningen Youth Institute last March. During the GYI, Elise had the opportunity to present the findings of her research and advice to Dr. Howarth Bouis (2016 World Food Prize winner) and Dr. Kenneth Monjero (biotechnologist at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research). Both experts were very impressed with Elise's research.
Elise shared with us about her week in Des Moines: 'It was a very enjoyable and educational experience. You truly get to learn about the agricultural sector around the world, and you also see how many interesting techniques and technologies are currently being developed. I also experienced for the first time how a professional conference operates and came into contact with real professionals. In the end, I made contacts from all over the world.'
The delegation from Wageningen
In addition to Mirjam Troost, coordinator of the Wageningen Youth Institute, the Wageningen Borlaug Scholars Floor Hogendoorn, Yasmin Dijksterhuis, and Dennis Vlegels (all three WUR master students) also attended the Global Youth Institute. Floor was selected as one of the Group Leaders of the GYI and guided students during the conference. He was also one of the moderators. Yasmin gave a speech on youth empowerment in agriculture and was one of the experts during the roundtable session. Dennis was present at the Global Youth Institute as a Youth Representative on the Council of Advisors of the World Food Prize Foundation, and he served as one of the experts.
