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

Hi, my name is Elle and I was allowed to go to the Global Youth Institute (GYI) with Wageningen this year. The GYI hosts a program every year in Des Moines, Iowa. The World Food Prize is also organized here every year. 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. The GYI and World Food Prize (WFP) programs partly overlap, so you as a student 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.

On the first day 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?

The second day of the program we went on an immersion experience. This means that all students were divided into 4 groups and in these groups they visited an institution involved in food provision. I was allowed to go to the Dmarc food bank, where I made food parcels together with my group. On the second day I also presented my essay, you do this in the same way as you did in Wageningen during the Wageningen Youth Institute. We also listened to the Borlaug Dialogue, a conference for experts working in development and agriculture.

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. These are the people who received the 2024 World Food Prize.

Your trip to the United States will be fully reimbursed. 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.

To have a chance to win this experience, I wrote an essay and presented it during the round table discussions on the campus of Wageningen University during the Wageningen Youth Institute event on May 24, 2024. These round table discussions take place every year. Of all the students who present, 1 or 2 will be chosen to go to the Global Youth Institute in the US. The presentation 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!