A collaborative online school project involving over 300 secondary school students from Papua New Guinea and Australia have embarked on a project focused on addressing food insecurity in the region.
Over 300 students from 15 schools in Papua New Guinea and Australia participated in an online collaborative school project aimed at exploring and addressing food insecurity in the region.
The students engaged in discussions about climate change, land degradation, waste, fertilisation, and population growth and their impact on food security locally and internationally.
One of the teachers involved in the project, Jeffrey Mave from Kerevat National School of Excellence, highlighted the importance of the project, saying, "Something that really connects us today is food. We have a role to play to feed our population, by starting locally we can also help globally."
The project included presentations by PNG chemistry researcher, Dr Yalinu Poya, Food and Agriculture Organisation Chief Economist, Maximo Torero, and Young Farming Champion, Dylan Male.
These presentations provided much food for thought for the students’ design considerations, and as part of the program, the students presented design prototypes and a promotional pitch to fellow schools.
The initiative, known as the PNGAus Partnership Secondary Schools, is managed by Tetra Tech International Development on behalf of the Australian Government and is supported by the Asia Education Foundation at Asialink and The University of Melbourne.
This project has provided an excellent opportunity for students to learn about the challenges of food insecurity and come up with solutions, and it is hoped that initiatives like this will continue to be encouraged and supported.