A shoutout from young leaders behind the Act4Food Act4Change campaign:
- Sophie Thow-Healy, Ireland: "We as young people have to act with urgency. We believe that the momentum before the Food Systems Summit should be used to ignite discussion and spark action globally. This is why the youth-led pledge exists, to create and support concrete global action."
- Huiyu Ouyang, China: "Young leaders like me can champion my country’s economic success to growing a healthy society with healthy eating habits. We can enable, inspire and motivate more youth to act for positive changes across the country."
- Dipty Chowdhury, Bangladesh: "I strongly believe that young people like me can be the drivers for change in the world. But for this to happen the world must hear from us, the young people. We need youth empowerment for better food systems. And the pledge is a platform for the youth to raise their voices together across the world. Coming from this part of the world, every day I realize the enormous importance of affordability and availability of nutritious food. I want to
- see nutritious food as a basic right and get rid of all the cheap junk food that is now readily available to us."
- Mike Khunga, Malawi: "Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are stricken by climate change, droughts and food insecurity leading to hunger and often death. Young people like me can be agents for change building communities’ awareness on ways to make them become more resilient to shocks, stress and other vulnerabilities."
- Lana Weidgenant, Brazil: "Unfortunately food apartheid exists and we have to address it head on. Racism is at the root of who is affected most from food insecurity, climate change, and the environmental effects of industrial food production. In Brazil, Indigenous peoples are impacted most by food production practices and the policies as well as international consumer demand fueling these methods. Social justice is an important part of our advocacy and we can achieve broad change as youth from around the world working together."