World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute 2021

The World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute (WFPMIYI) is a one-day online event where youth in grades 7-12:

• Present research and recommendations on how to solve key global challenges in a short speech and small group discussions with local experts.
• Connect with other student leaders from across Michigan to share ideas, identify solutions to these problems and build lasting friendships.
• Interact with global leaders in science, agriculture, industry and policy.
• Take part in interactive immersion experience sessions to explore current research and issues related to food and food security.
• Meet innovative researchers, professors and college students in Michigan working to end hunger and poverty and improve food security here, and around the world.

When and where: May 6, 2021, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST - Participants will connect online to the World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute using Zoom meeting technology.

Who: Students who are in grades 7 through 12 during the 2020-2021 school year are eligible to register by submitting a two to five page paper (see link below).

Cost: FREE

Registration deadlines:

• Youth Registration - Deadline: April 1, 2021
  (Please note that youth must submit their completed research paper as part of the registration process.)
  
• Teacher and Adult Mentor Registrations - April 1, 2021
  

Paper guidelines: Youth will select a country and research one of 20 key factors that affect food security (examples of key factors include plants, animal health, water scarcity, dietary diseases, malnutrition, human rights and international trade). Under the supervision of a teacher or mentor, each participant will then write a two-five page paper outlining their research findings, as well as an approach/recommendation they develop to overcome the issue. More topic, paper and mentor guidelines can be found at World Food Prize, along with examples of past papers.

During the event: Youth will give a short presentation on their research paper and recommendations. Presentations will be a maximum of 5 minutes in length and will be presented in a round table format so youth can receive feedback on their research from their peers and experts who will be assigned to each group.

During the event, youth will be scored by the experts in their presentation groups based on their individual presentations and their participation in the group discussions. The research paper submitted by each youth will be reviewed and evaluated by a member of the World Food Prize Board of Reviewers, and the score given to each research paper will be shared with the co-directors of the World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute. These factors will be the primary criteria for selecting delegates to participate in the 2021 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute as part of Michigan's delegation.

The top youth will be considered as possible delegates to represent Michigan at the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in October 2021. At the Global Youth Institute, Michigan delegates will join over 300 other outstanding high school students and mentors from across the United States and around the world for an exciting three-day program to interact with Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates and the more than 1,000 global leaders from 75 countries attending the World Food Prize’s annual international symposium and awards program.