Young leaders are invited to a global forum to collaborate and develop sustainable solutions for food security and global agriculture.
This year’s theme of Bayer’s Youth Ag Summit (YAS), “Feeding a Hungry Planet”, is based on the United Nations’ prediction that the planet’s population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, which could pose food security challenges.
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and technology company Babele will provide a virtual idea incubator, YAS University, where the delegates will learn entrepreneurship and leadership skills, receive coaching from mentors, and improve their own “Thrive for Change” project concepts in a 10-week period following the November summit.
One hundred delegates will be selected to participate in the first virtually held YAS.
The application for the 2021 YAS is open to individuals 18 to 25 years old. Potential delegates will be asked to share their motivation to join the summit, their previous advocacy experience, and a three-minute video pitch explaining their project idea on “how to feed a hungry planet”.
Applicants should be personally, professionally, and academically interested in agriculture, international development, environmental stewardship, food security, biotechnology, and/or farming.
Sharing her experience at the 2019 YAS held in Brazil, Philippine delegate Christine Jodloman relates, “My YAS experience has been amazing and humbling, as I was able to meet, connect, and get inspired by my fellow youth agriculture changemakers around the world.”
Her work is focused on grassroots agripreneurship for rural farming communities. Delegates from around the world were able to provide suggestions on her projects which she integrated in her youth and women programs at AGREA Foundation.
Jodloman also helps in the Move Food Initiative as a facilitator to farmer groups. They were able to provide 190,000 kilos of agriculture produce and help 30,000 farmers in 2020.
“Agriculture is not just about growing food, it also means growing the future,” opines Jodloman. “We need a future with a thriving agricultural sector, where people and the planet are prioritized.”
To apply for the Youth Ag Summit 2021, go to www.youthagsummit.com.