Dates will be Announced Soon!

FOODWISE – UNIVERSITY STUDENT COMPETITION

Global Outlook 

Did you know that food security is a major global challenge for all countries, both developed and underdeveloped? We face a number of challenges across both production and consumption which needs to be tackled and solved.

By 2050, the demand for food will be 60% greater than it is today, and we will need to feed nearly 10 billion people. We produce more food per person than ever but 720 - 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020. (FAO, 2020)

THE UAE’S VISION ON FOOD SECURITY

Following the vision of H.E. Shaikh Zayed, the nation has made all the right moves towards building a sustainable farming ecosystem and achieving food security.


The country envisions a national system for sustainable agriculture to improve its self-sufficiency in food that creates new opportunities to ensure that the agriculture sector is always ranked among the best. The system is projected to increase self-sufficiency from the targeted agricultural crops by 5 per cent.

Partnership is a key pillar in the government work model, and we will work with relevant local and international entities to draft a framework that will help us achieve mutual interests and support our food and water sector

H.E. MARIAM AL MHEIRI

UAE’s MINISTER OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT

In order to understand and tackle global challenges the world faces with food nutrition and food safety - new ideas, innovations and inspirations need to be developed. University students can play an active role in aligning to this global vision.

This is a call to schools and school students to propose and present new innovations and ideas for a better diet for the planet and people.

Can you come up with solutions to challenges related to food security and raise awareness so that we are well equipped to make conscious and well-informed decisions in the future?

CATEGORY 1 - Eat local

  • How can we produce and consume food produced locally to reduce environmental impact in a country where less than 1% land is arable (UAE)?How can we feed 10 billion people in a climate-changing world?
  • UAE currently imports about 90% of its needs and at the same time we have experienced globally a surge in food prices and the disruption of the supply chains caused by the pandemic.

CATEGORY 2- Reduce food waste and loss

  • How can we save approx. 30/40% food wasted today and make food production and consumption circular?
  • Approximately 40% of all the food grown goes uneaten around the world. In West Asia alone 34% of the food served is wasted at the household stage. How can we minimize this?

CATEGORY 3 - Sustain food safety and improve nutritional intake

  • Can we switch to more plant-based diets. How can we reduce animal-sourced food to improve carbon footprint of food production and transition to plant-based diet?
  • 31% of human-caused GHG emissions originate from the world’s agri-food systems and meat and dairy industries produce 14.5% of total man-made emissions.

CATEGORY 4 - Conscious Consumers and Responsible Food Businesses

  • Can we enhance capacity to respond to food security and crises? How can we improve labelling, empower consumers to make better food choices and producers to apply responsible practices?
  • Consumers need to be better informed about the impact of their food choices and purchases, while food system businesses shall take more sustainable practices while sharing nutritional information.
  • Teams of 2-6 students with an academic teacher or coordinator from universities, colleges and other high educational institutions. The institution must be present in the UAE. Students can work together at their schools or virtually.

Innovations, new technologies, smart solutions, breaking silos and creating collaboration, enhancing conscious consumerism and responsible business practices. Solutions can be proposed for the UAE or for other countries or regions too. All submissions are to be prepared and presented in English

  • A PowerPoint presentation suggesting a solution that tackles one of the main categories. The presentation will contain a maximum of 5 slides.
  • Structure of the presentation: Objective/s and goals; Key stakeholders; Risks; Timeline and Budget. We want you to tell a story on how your solution will impact the selected problem.
  • The presentation shall be provided in pdf, in English and maximum size of 5 MB (in the section with format required)
  • Alignment to the competition objective and brief, including one or more of main themes - Qualifying Criteria of answering the challenge brief YES/NO (no - disqualified)
  • Potential Impact - What difference would the solution make? 1-5
  • Innovative Approach - How Innovative is the solution, what added value does it bring? 1-5
  • Feasibility How likely is your solution to be successful? 1-5
  • Scalability - Can your solution be applied on a larger scale? 1-5
  • 10 finalist teams will be invited to present their solution during the Award Ceremony at the Food for Future Summit & Expo (23 or 24 February 2022).
  • After finalists present their solutions, the panel of judges will select winners of the challenge.
  • What is the maximum number of students that can be listed per team? 4-6 students
  • Submission eligibility: Alignment to the challenge brief and requirements
  • What kind of documentation is needed? Are there any limitations? Presentation PPT, covering the following: Objective/s and goals; Key stakeholders; Risks; Timeline and Budget.
  • What’s the size of the presentation that we need to submit? Maximum 5 slides
  • Does the presentation need to be timed? The presentation for finalists is limited to 3 minutes.
  • What are the selection criteria?
    • Alignment to the competition objective and brief, including one or more of main themes - Qualifying Criteria of answering the challenge brief YES/NO (no - disqualified)
    • Potential Impact - What difference would the solution make? 1-5
    • Innovative Approach - How Innovative is the solution, what added value does it bring? 1-5
    • Feasibility - How likely is your solution to be successful? 1-5
    • Scalability - Can your solution be applied on a larger scale? 1-5
  • Can we come to the event even if we don’t make it to the final selection? Yes, the event will be open to everybody and full of workshops/activities on food security. (Programme for youth, where will it be available?)
  • Where will the final be held? The final event will be held at Dubai Exhibition Center (DEC) located at Expo2020.
  • Still not clear with submission criteria or deadlines? Feel free to contact us on ewa@goumbook.com
  • DEADLINE : 13th February 2022

HOSTED BY

Food for future summit

ORGANISED BY

Food for future summit

IMPACT PARTNER

Food for future summit