Food4Thought: Swiss Youth Campaign for Food Sustainability
A 3-week challenge on the Goodwall platform on food sustainability, inviting young people to rethink their food systems which surround them. Participants record selfie-style <3 minute videos, photos or texts, showing us how their favorite food got to their table. Winners are celebrated and rewarded with monetary, in-kind prizes, and potentially invitations to events such as the World Food Forum.
Who are the people behind the project and what is your background?
Goodwall is a mobile-first personal & professional development platform with 2.2 M members across 150+ countries that guides 16-24 year olds through the world of education and work. Selected in 2023 by the World Economic Forum as a Tech Pioneer, Goodwall was founded by the two social entrepreneurs, the brothers Taha and Omar Bawa, with the goal of leveling the playing field for youth and bridge the skills-gap globally. They have both been named on Forbes' acclaimed 30under30 list.
How did your idea come into being?
As part of its continuing growing network of partners, Goodwall collaborated 2 years ago with the Wyss Academy for Nature and the Swiss Embassy on the topic of food sustainability. We gathered inputs from a community of young people, which brought us to develop new ideas, a new approach and a new program focusing on the promotion of a sustainable food system.
Inspired by the success of our last program, we have decided to engage youth in a program on food sustainability, given the direct impact our food choices have on the environment, and as part of the continuous effort of Goodwall on promoting the fight against climate change amongst youth, starting from their daily life and their communities. The online program in question has been developed by Goodwall as a follow-up to the initial Food4Thought initiative. This program represents our continued commitment to enhancing food sustainability skills among Swiss youth through a second edition of the initiative.
What is your idea to impactfully design a climate positive FOODprint for Switzerland?
The program aims to advance food sustainability in Switzerland through an online initiative that encourages individuals to showcase the integration of these principles in their daily routines. Swiss youth will be provided with the opportunity to illustrate the journey of their preferred foods from farm to table, including the corresponding environmental and societal impacts of production.
Drawing from the success of the previous global edition of this program, participants are expected to achieve the following outcomes: a heightened inclination to prioritize sustainably sourced foods, a sense of enriched understanding regarding food sustainability from the challenge, increased awareness of the availability of information concerning local food production systems, and a sustained commitment to actively advocate for and engage with the subject of sustainable food systems within their communities.
How do you define the positive impact of your solution on the problem described above?
The preceding global edition of the program yielded substantial outcomes: 95% of participants in the challenge expressed a sense of increased understanding regarding food sustainability; 72% recognized the deficiency of accurate information about food production systems within their communities. Subsequent to the challenge, participants' willingness to embrace more sustainably sourced foods exhibited an average increase from 6.8/10 before the challenge to 8.1/10. Moreover, 95% of participants conveyed their intention to persistently advocate for or participate in discussions pertaining to sustainable food systems within their communities.
