Noted international leader QU Dongyu to deliver a keynote address during the November 16-17 virtual summit / The global forum and biennially-organized conference gives 100 selected young leaders from 44 countries the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded peers on solutions to food security and sustainability challenges
Agrilife24.com:Dr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, will be this year’s keynote speaker at Bayer’s 2021 Youth Ag Summit. Leading FAO since August 2019, Dr QU has been implementing his vision that agri-food systems must be transformed in order to become more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable. This is vital to achieve the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.
The summit’s overall theme, “Feeding a Hungry Planet,” is based on the United Nations’ prediction that the planet’s population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and will be faced with food security challenges.
Dr. QU’s address will take place on the final day of the live global event. The Youth Ag Summit will have a full agenda and links available at www.youthagsummit.com with options to view live broadcasts throughout the summit, as well as session recordings after the event.
“These young people have the creativity and commitment needed to help feed a growing population without starving the world,” said Liam Condon, member of the board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science Division. “Hearing directly from the head of the FAO, Dr. QU, about his passion for making the world hunger-free is incredibly inspirational for these next generation leaders.”
To be selected, this year’s delegates presented winning “Thrive for Change” project ideas and examples of previous advocacy work based on the summit’s overall theme “Feeding a Hungry Planet.” Divinah Onditi from Kenya for example, who personally experienced food insecurity while growing up in a Kibera slum, is working on a method that empowers households anywhere to safely and affordably grow their own food with smart vegetable planters. The Zetech University business student now hopes her experience and project inspires fellow delegates’ work on other sustainability solutions.
As an official global partner with Bayer for this year’s forum, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), in partnership with technology company Babele, will also provide a virtual idea incubator called YAS University where delegates will continue to learn entrepreneurship and leadership skills, receive coaching from mentors, and improve their own project concepts throughout a 10-week period following the November summit.
For more on Youth Ag Summit 2021, please visit www.youthagsummit.com. You can also follow the Youth Ag Summit (@youthagsummit) on Instagram or follow #agvocateswithoutborders and #YAS2021 on any social media platform.
About the Youth Ag Summit
The Youth Ag Summit movement is a community of global young leaders championing sustainable agriculture and food security and working to bridge the understanding gap between those who produce our food and those who consume it. Every two years, 100 delegates are chosen to take part in the Summit. Previous editions have been hosted in Canada, Australia, Belgium and Brazil. Due to COVID restrictions, this year’s summit is the first completely virtual event.
About the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. For more information, visit www.unsdsn.org.
