Two students from the Animal and Botanical Sciences Magnet Program at Freehold Township High School, Georgia Silver and Jaden Bulkley, were selected as New Jersey Delegates for the World Food Prize Foundation’s Global Youth Institute (GYI).
The event was held virtually from October 16-21, 2022. Over 240 high school students and their teachers from ten different countries were selected to attend the GYI, which was hosted in conjunction with the Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium. To be considered for participation, students identify a country of interest and research a topic affecting the global food system, then propose an evidence-based solution to improve the lives of families within that country. Students are selected to attend the conference by presenting their solutions at a regional youth institute or through an at-large selection process. During this symposium, high school students had the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of internationally renowned World Food Prize Laureates and leaders in nutrition, agriculture, technology, and international development.
Students presented their original research papers and participated in roundtable discussions with leading experts in agricultural industries, technological innovation, and international policy. For the first time in the history of GYI, student delegates were allowed to share their ideas from their research papers in a collaborative report that will be submitted to the advisors of the United Nations Food Systems Summit. Participants also took part in an exclusive cooking demonstration hosted by the Food Forever Initiative, to better understand the importance of biodiversity within our food system and diets. The students also viewed the 2022 World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony honoring Dr. Cynthia Rosenwig for her contributions to understanding and predicting the impacts of the interaction between climate and food systems.
Participating student delegates at this year’s event represented 27 U.S. states and ten countries.
The Animal and Botanical Sciences Magnet Program at Freehold Township High School offers a sequence of courses designed for students to explore their interests in the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource sector. They develop a quality Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program and become active members of the Freehold Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter. Additionally, all students from the Animal Botanical Science class of 2023 are recognized Borlaug Scholars and are eligible for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship or the USDA Washington Carver Internship.
