Eight DMPS Students Participated in WFP Global Youth Institute

Cinthia Wilkinson, a student at Central Campus and Lincoln High School, stands next to 2013 World Food Prize laureate Dr. Robert Fraley during a session of the Global Youth Institute.

Eight students from Des Moines Public Schools were recognized as among the top students by the World Food Prize, as they were selected to attend and participate in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, held back on October 17-19 in Des Moines. The Global Youth Institute was held during the Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium, which drew 1,500 people from more than 65 countries to discuss the world’s hunger and food security issues.

As part of their participation, students from across the United States and abroad researched global food security issues in the country of their choice, and then submitted papers on those critical topics, which they also presented to renowned experts and scientists. Students from DMPS selected to participate, and the subject of their research papers, were:

STUDENT SCHOOL/TEACHER RESEARCH PAPER
Annie Johnson Central Academy/LincolnTeacher: Scott Schoneberg “Burundi: Decreasing Hunger by Increasing Crop Yields Through New Technologies in Seed Innovation”
Sarah Johnson Central Academy/RooseveltTeacher: Scott Schoneberg “China: Changing International Trade Policies to Ensure Continued Economic Success”
Camille Juarez East High SchoolTeacher: Jamaal Allan “Good Governance in Burma”
Dakota Lyddon Central Campus/EastTeacher: Jacob Hunter “Peru: Plant science to improve the disease and drought resistance and crop yields”
John O’Brien Roosevelt High SchoolTeacher: Noreen Nsereko “An Ancient Land With a Modern Problem”
Frankie Schulte Central Campus/RooseveltTeacher: Kacia Cain “Haiti: Water & Sanitation, Increasing Access to Safe, Potable Water Supplies”
Cinthia Wilkinson Central Campus/LincolnTeacher: Kacia Cain “Philippines: Developing a limited diet into a nutrient rich one”
Mikel Wright Central Campus/HooverTeacher: Jacob Hunter “Honduras: Preparing for Climate Change and Natural Disasters”

NOTE: Click on the link in the right-hand column to download a PDF of each student’s research paper.

The research papers were based on the theme “Ending Hunger In Our Lifetime: A Call to Action” and focused on major issues in global agriculture, development and food security in developing countries.

At the three-day World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, the DMPS students were among 150 high school students from around the country and across the world who had the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of internationally renowned World Food Prize Laureates and leaders in food, agriculture and international development. Global Youth Institute attendees participated in symposium sessions featuring:

  • His Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland;
  • His Eminence Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson of Ghana, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Holy See, The Vatican;
  • His Excellency Akinwumi A. Adesina, Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria;
  • Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Howard G. Buffett and Howard W. Buffett who announced the creation of the 40 Chances Fellows program, a partnership of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative, and The World Food Prize;
  • The CEOs of many of the world’s major agribusiness companies: DuPont, Elanco, Kemin Industries, Monsanto, Novus International and Syngenta; and
  • Researchers, non-profit leaders and smallholder farmers from around the globe.

Participants also helped with a hands-on service project packaging meals for Outreach International, a hunger-fighting organization that serves people in Iowa and abroad, toured an Iowa farm, and took part in an Oxfam Hunger Banquet to experience the realities of global hunger and poverty.

Participants also viewed the 2013 World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony that honored three individuals – Marc Van Montagu of Belgium, Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert Fraley of the United States – for their independent, individual breakthrough achievements in founding, developing, and applying modern agricultural biotechnology. Their research is making it possible for farmers to grow crops with: improved yields; resistance to insects and disease; and the ability to tolerate extreme variations in climate.

Created by Dr. Borlaug and Iowa businessman John Ruan in 1994, the Global Youth Institute today receives major support from Clay Mathile and the Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition. The program was developed to challenge and inspire participating student-teacher teams to identify ways of alleviating hunger, and to expose the students to opportunities and careers in food, agriculture and natural resource disciplines.

Participants in this year’s Global Youth Institute were from Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, and South Africa.

The World Food Prize was founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug in order to recognize and inspire great achievements in improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world. This year’s World Food Prize events kicked off the beginning of a year-long anniversary celebration in honor of Dr. Borlaug’s 100th birthday that will culminate in fall 2014.

High school educators and students interested in participating should visit www.worldfoodprize.org/youth and select their state on the U.S. map, or other country link if living abroad, for information on the 2014 Global Youth Institute.

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