(Atlantic) Atlantic FFA member Malena Woodward presented a paper virtually to the Global Youth Institute on Tuesday, October 13th. Woodward’s paper was on malnutrition in Puerto Rico and provided several options to help solve this issue that affects 1.5 million Puerto Rican’s every year. Puerto Rico imports 85% of the food they need every year. Malena’s solutions included additional education for school-age students with an emphasis on growing food on the island.
“I really enjoyed the presentations; I thought it was interesting hearing the ideas of other students and experts trying to solve world hunger as well as hearing their input and giving me more ideas about my topic,” said Woodward.
In addition to this experience, Iowa State University presented Malena with $500 for participating in the Iowa Youth Institute in April and $2,000 for participating in the Global Youth Institute this week.
Malena and eight other students from five different states and one student from China participated in the roundtable discussion. Individual presentations included; Water & Sanitation issues in Ireland, Infectious Disease in Burundi, Sustainable Agriculture in Guatemala, the Education Gap in El Salvador, Climate Volatility in Bangladesh, War and Conflict in Yemen, Policy and Governmental Conflict in Zimbabwe, and Water Scarcity in Uganda.
Woodward also presented to experts in a variety of different fields. Dr. Ruth MacDonald, Iowa State University Professor and Chair of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Dr. Glenn Gregorio Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)Director and Mr. Stan Carlson, Former Canadian diplomat, and United Nations Official.
On Friday, the Global Youth Institute wrapped up with a keynote address by His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan and a round table discussion with all of the student participants and more than a dozen government officials, CEOs of nonprofit organizations, and Fortune 500 business leaders from all over the world.
ABOUT THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE: The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. The Prize was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, the World Food Prize has honored 50 outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions worldwide. The World Food Prize annually hosts the Borlaug Dialogue international symposium and various youth education programs to discuss cutting-edge global food further.
(AHS submitted article)
