STI Forum Side Event - Youth-led Innovation: Ensuring good food for all, for today and tomorrow

30/04/2024

Date: 8 May 2024

Time: 13:15 – 14:30 EDT

Venue: Conference Room 11 (CR11), UN Headquarters, New York, USA

Building on the success of the World Food Forum (WFF) in recent years, it has become a powerful global movement uniting diverse generations, sectors and cultures. The WFF fosters initiatives for a more sustainable, resilient, inclusive and hunger-free future. Aligned with the vision of empowering youth, fostering innovation, attracting investments, promoting inclusivity and utilizing science-backed evidence, the WFF is now gearing up for a series of impactful actions to accelerate its support for agrifood systems transformation.

With this in mind, the WFF will join the 9th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) by organizing its side event “Youth-led Innovation: Ensuring good food for all, for today and tomorrow” to highlight the importance of engaging global youth in science, technology and innovation, showcasing young scientists and innovators who are making a difference, and presenting opportunities for youth to play a central role in the transformation of our agrifood systems and the achievement of the SDGs.

Speakers will include senior leaders from the UN Youth Office and FAO, young innovators from the WFF’s Transformative Research Challenge (TRC), Startup Innovation Awards, powered by Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) and Youth Food Lab, as well as the WFF Young Scientists Group (YSG), in an intergenerational dialogue on the importance of investing in youth in STI.

The side event will be hybrid, hosted at the UN headquarters in New York.

Agenda:

Introduction

Opening of STI WFF side event by moderators

Opening remarks by Carol Bellamy, Chair, Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) on the critical role that youth must play in leading innovation to achieve the SDGs

PART 1: Youth-led Innovation in Agrifood Systems

Introduction of WFF Transformative Research Challenge

Presentation of WFF Transformative Research Challenge experience by Nancy Nson Nswal, Winner from 2023 TRC

Introduction of the WFF Youth Food Lab programme

Presentation of WFF Youth Food Lab experience by Bibek Shrestha, Wetlands4Nepal

Introduction of the WFF Startup Innovation Awards by Nancy Yuan, Strategic Program Manager, Extreme Tech Challenge

Presentation of WFF Startup Innovation Awards by 2023 WFF Startup Innovator of the Year winner, Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu, CEO, Zebra CropBank

2024 Startup Innovation Awards boost and presentation of WFF-UNIDO Startup Accelerator Program by Adnan Šerić, Head of Innovation Lab, UNIDO

Wrap up of panel and lead to next section by moderators

CULTURAL BREAK

Introduction of WFF Film Festival and the “Best Focus on Innovation” award

PART 2: Young Scientists in Agrifood Systems

Introduction to WFF Young Scientists Group 2023-2025 Cohort by moderators

Panel discussion: “The Role of Young Scientists in Transforming Agrifood Systems Amid Multiple Crises” with YSG members, an introduction of the WFF YSG Report 2024

PART 3: Concluding Remarks and Call for Action

Reflections on the interventions and words of support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands by ECOSOC Ambassador Katja Lasseur

Reflections on the interventions and closing remarks highlighting the importance of empowering youth innovation in support of agrifood systems transformation by Vincent Martin, FAO Office of Innovation (OIN) Director

Confirmed speakers:

Katja Lasseur, Kingdom of the Netherlands ECOSOC Ambassador
Vincent Martin, FAO OIN Director
Carol Bellamy, Chair, Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF)
Nancy Nson Nswal, Winner from 2023 TRC
Nancy Yuan, Strategic Program Manager,Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC)
Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu, CEO, Zebra CropBank
Bibek Shrestha, Wetlands4Nepal
Adnan SERIC, Head of Innovation Lab at UNIDO
Tarini Gupta and Margaret Hegwood, World Food Forum Young Scientists Group 2023-2025 Cohort

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