How many times this summer were you ever bored out of your mind, so you dreamed of food? That was the case with senior Ashley Xie on a summer day, when she aimlessly googled “research on food for teens.” Little did she expect that, among only 149 others from all over the world, she would later be chosen to attend a three-day conference called the Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa.
From Oct. 15 to 18, Xie had the chance to collaborate with Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates like Dr. Philip Nelson and other international experts to discuss prevalent food security issues and agricultural issues around the world.
After finding out about the Global Youth Institute, sponsored by The World Food Prize, Xie applied to attend the conference. The application consisted of writing a research paper on a specific country’s problems regarding nutritional infrastructure. All submitted research papers would be evaluated by a committee of experts, and selected winners would receive invitations to attend the Global Youth Institute. Xie diligently worked all summer to submit her final essay on Haiti. She received guidance from Joe Moran, an English teacher at DBHS, who mentored her by helping her “polish my paper and give me advice on how to structure my speech for my presentation.”
Xie decided to base her paper on the malnutrition and obsolete agricultural methods rampant in Haiti, as well as other widespread issues, such as the oppression of women. In addition, Xie proposed her own resolution of constructing urban gardens to help alleviate malnutrition.
“Researching about [Haiti] made me learn more about what they go through, but in the future, I want to take part in solving the predominant issues with malnutrition,” Xie commented.
After being one of two students in California to be selected, Xie attended the conference, where she was able to meet people who shared the same interests, as well as work with many international experts and a few significant figures. For the first two days, Xie and her peers listened to speeches from these experts, including President of Iceland and Prime Minister of Nigeria who each gave a speech about problems about food security around the globe. The students were also able to interact with one another at the multiple dinner socials.
“I was inspired by President of Iceland for [his] current efforts [to promote] green energy and learned that solving problems that involve malnutrition and infrastructure are very complicated,” Xie said.
During the conference, students participated in activities to better comprehend the situations third World countries have to endure, as opposed to the convenience of our everyday lives. For example, to demonstrate the injustice of different social classes, students were assigned at random to certain classes during the dinner on the third day. Students who were chosen for “high class” got a full course savory meal, while the “middle class” received an average meal. Those who were designated a “low class” received nothing but a handful of uncooked rice.
Other activities at the conference included touring a corn farm in Iowa, which displayed the exact process of food growth and distribution, and helping pack food aid packages for Tanzania.
On the last day, students presented their papers to a group of 10 students. Xie was able to work with Food Prize Laureate Nelson.
“The experience I gained from the program was surreal… it definitely helped me figure out that I want to do this in the future as a career,” she said.