MSU Extension 4-H Careers & Entrepreneurship

Michigan will be represented at the 2018 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute by seven outstanding youth from Huron, Monroe and Shiawassee counties. The delegates were chosen from among the 53 youth who participated in the World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute, held May 10, 2018, on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, and at MSU’s Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham, Michigan. At the Global Youth Institute, Michigan’s delegates will join hundreds of other youth and some of the world’s leading experts on food security to learn about our planet’s most critical challenges and to discuss diverse solutions to these grand global issues.

At the World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute, students in grades 8-12 from across Michigan presented an overview of the research paper they had written about an international country of their choice and a global challenge affecting food security or food access in their chosen country. In their research papers, youth examined the food security status of a typical family living in the country they selected, explained how the global challenge they selected impacted food security in their chosen country, and recommended a variety of potential solutions to the challenges faced by people in their country of study.

Students selected one global challenge to focus on in their research papers from a list of 20 potential topics identified by the World Food Prize. The potential global challenges to choose from included topics such as water scarcity, renewable energy, climate volatility, sustainable agriculture, malnutrition, human rights, education and foreign aid. A complete list of topics and more information about the program can be found on the World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute website.

The World Food Prize Global Youth Institute will be Oct. 17-20, 2018, in Des Moines, Iowa, as part of the annual World Food Prize Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium and Laureate Award Ceremony. The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing the accomplishments of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world, according to the World Food Prize. Youth participating in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute will watch the awards ceremony and hear speeches from the recipients of the 2018 World Food Prize, Lawrence Haddad and David Nabarro.

Michigan’s delegates will also participate in the Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium, known as the “Borlaug Dialogue.” Held each October in conjunction with the presentation of the World Food Prize, the ‘Borlaug Dialogue’ is a three-day symposium that brings together international experts, policy leaders, business executives and farmers to address cutting-edge issues in global food security and nutrition, according to the World Food Prize.

Michigan’s youth delegates will have an opportunity to present their research and proposed solutions to global challenges related to food security through roundtable discussions with peers and experts while attending the Global Youth Institute.

Michigan’s 2018 delegation to the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute include:

• Casey Baranski (Huron County), a junior at North Huron School in Kinde, Michigan. She will present her research on water and sanitation in Ghana.
• Elisabeth Brockman (Monroe County), a senior homeschooled student from Monroe, Michigan. She will present her research on malnutrition in Nigeria.
• Haili Gusa (Huron County), a senior from Ubly Community Schools in Ubly, Michigan. She will present her research on malnutrition in Fiji.
• Brooke Helvie (Shiawassee County), a junior from Owosso High School in Owosso, Michigan. She will present her research on human rights in Afghanistan.
• Ashley Koglin (Huron County), a senior from North Huron School. She will present her research on water and sanitation in Angola.
• Autumn Merrihew (Shiawassee County), a junior from Owosso High School. She will present her research on animal health in Mexico.
• Elizabeth Trudeau (Huron County), a senior from North Huron School. She will present her research on education in Uganda.

The World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute is an annual Michigan State University pre-college program that is coordinated by Michigan 4-H with support from the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, MSU International Studies and Programs, MSU Extension and Michigan FFA. Michigan State University and the World Food Prize provide funding to cover all expenses, including transportation, lodging and meals for Michigan’s youth delegates who participate in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute.

Visit the World Food Prize Michigan Youth Institute website for more information, or contact event coordinator Brian Wibby at wibby@anr.msu.edu or 906-315-2662.

To learn about the positive impact of Michigan 4-H youth leadership, citizenship and service and global and cultural education programs, read our 2016 Impact Report: “Developing Civically Engaged Leaders”. Additional impact reports, highlighting even more ways Michigan State University Extension and Michigan 4-H have positively impacted individuals and communities in 2016 can be downloaded from the MSU Extension website.