Today marks the kick-off of the 3rd edition of the Youth Ag Summit in Brussels, Belgium, with 100 bright young talents from around the world – including five from the U.S. All here to tackle one of humanity’s biggest challenges: how to feed a growing population in a more sustainable manner. Organized by Bayer, together with the two Belgian young farmers associations Groene Kring (GK) and Fédération des Jeunes Agriculteurs (FJA), the summit aims to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture.
The youth delegates from 49 countries will work together to generate innovative, sustainable and actionable solutions to global food security challenges. Their mission is to come up with concrete new ideas which can drive agricultural progress across the globe and be put into practice back home.
In addition to talks designed to spark their creativity, delegates will have the opportunity to tour EU institutions and meet with European policymakers, visit one of Bayer’s innovative sustainable farming sites, and gain real-world insights into sustainability in action from companies and organizations such as Rabobank, CropTrust, Thought for Food, BioBest, International Society for Horticultural Science, VIB – Flemish Institute for Biotech, Inagro, University Ghent and Ahold Delhaize Group.
Throughout the week, delegates will work to develop “Thrive for Change Projects”; concrete ideas to help achieve the UN SDGs in their communities and countries. Following a pitch process, the strongest ideas will be selected for future funding and development by Bayer.
During the very first Summit in Calgary, Canada, attendees learned how three ideas can turn into three actions. One of Derrick Rozdeba’s, VP of Communications at Bayer Inc. Canada, “3 little things” was making the Youth Ag Summit a recurring global event. I sat down with him to learn how that goal has become a reality.
Listen to our chat here: Interview with Derrick Rozdeba, Bayer Inc.
View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Youth Ag Summit Photo Album