Feeding a Hungry Planet - One Action at a Time

In some ways, it might just be what we're best at. Whether seated round the coffee table or kitchen table, on a bar stool or milk stool, solving the world's problems, however small or mighty, might be one of our favourite past times. In fact, it seems as if leaving a group of farmers together in a room is all that's needed to spark a lively discussion. It typically focuses on what's wrong in the [insert context here] and how we would fix it. A cold beverage often seems to accompany such debates, although its not necessary. I can recall all the way back to my 4-H days where a heated discussion on farming and general lack of consumer awareness might go well into the early hours of morning.

So, imagine a week dedicated to creating these types of discussions but instead of leaving them to be forgotten when the last Coors has been polished off, they're further nurtured and allowed to ripen. All the eureka! moments would not only be captured, but they would be vetted (sans alcohol) and further crafted into actions, designed to make a difference. It would be truly solving the world's problems, but with action instead of just talk.  

That week is next week. The Global Youth Ag Summit, being hosted in conjunction with 4-H Canada's 100th Anniversary with major support from Bayer CropScience will bring together 120 youth from around the world to tackle the greatest world problem; hunger. I don't need to cite the facts. They are plentiful and compelling. The Bullvine does a great job summarizing the event's purpose. What do I think is most cool about this event? It's hard to pinpoint; this summit will be like none other in Canadian agriculture.

• Youth are taking global hunger into their own hands with agriculture-focused solutions
• The Summit will produce actions, not just ideas or "feel good" memories, although I'm sure there will be many of these as well
• Youth will localize their actions, so every country, region and community from which delegates reside will benefit
• It's Global - most of us have never truly experienced hunger or poverty, and short from seeing it with our own eyes, learning about it from those who witness it daily is probably the next most powerful

The schedule provides ample time for delegates to reflect and I intend to share my mentoring experience through this blog. It will be undoubtedly powerful and quite possibly life-changing. Let the problem-solving begin!