The World Food Prize

Join other student leaders from across the state to take part in the 2nd annual New York Youth Institute at Cornell University on September 25, 2010. For more information, visit their website.

At this exciting day-long event, participating high school students have the opportunity to…

• Present their findings in a short speech and small group discussions with international experts and other students from across the state
• Share their ideas and interact with global leaders in science, industry and policy
• Tour Cornell University and meet innovative researchers, professors and college students in New York working to end hunger and poverty and improve food security around the world.
• Interact with global leaders and other students from around the world

How it works
The students research and write a short essay under the supervision of a teacher mentor. Essays must be received by the state coordinator by September 20, 2010.The 2010 essay topic is Solutions for the World's Smallholders.

Four exceptional students at the New York Youth Institute will be selected to represent the state of New York at the three-day Global Youth Institute hosted by The World Food Prize Foundation.

The selected students and their teacher mentors will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, October 14-16, to participate in the Global Youth Institute (transportation, accommodation and meal expenses provided by The World Food Prize Foundation and Cornell University).

There, they will join over 200 other outstanding high school students and teachers from across the United States and other countries to interact with Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates and the more than 600 global leaders from 65 countries attending the World Food Prize's annual international symposium.

Travel abroad and start making a difference
By participating in the Global Youth Institute held in Iowa, students are eligible to apply for a prestigious Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, an all-expenses-paid, eight-week hands-on experience, working with world-renowned scientists and policymakers at leading research centers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Students must be a high school junior or senior when applying for a potential internship placement.

Since 1998, over 140 Borlaug-Ruan Interns have traveled to Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Kenya, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Turkey to get a firsthand view of pressing food security and nutritional problems in poverty-stricken areas and take part in ground-breaking research.

For more information on the essay and how to participate in the Youth Institute, contact the State Coordinator Francine Jasper at fj10@cornell.edu or at (607) 255-1907.