The Indissoluble Bond between Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School and the World Food Prize
The World Food Prize, which is referred to as the Nobel Prize in the food and agriculture sector as well as the highest honor in the international agricultural arena, was established in 1986 by Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, to reward those who made great contributions to providing people with rich and nutritious food. Mr. He Kang, the former Minister of Agriculture of China, and Mr. Yuan Longping, the father of “hybrid rice”, won the prize in 1993 and 2004 respectively. Former Vice President Xi Jinping attended the China-US Agricultural High-level Seminar and delivered a speech at the World Food Prize in 2012.
Launched in 1994 by Dr. Norman Borlaug, the World Food Prize Youth Institute is the nation’s largest youth project on agriculture and food, with more than 200 outstanding high school students from all US states and countries around the world attending a three-day youth institute organized by the World Food Prize Foundation.
On June 4, 2012, the current US ambassador to China and former Governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, led a delegation to visit Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School (SFLS). In a face-to-face conversation with the students, he and Ms. Sarah Lande introduced the World Food Prize and the Youth Institute project to the students of SFLS, hoping they would participate in the project.
In October of 2013, on the 30th anniversary of the friendship established between Hebei Province and Iowa State University, with the support and assistance of Ambassador Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation, and Mr. Ye Changqing, the current Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hebei Province and former Executive President of the Hebei People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, in October of 2013, five students and one teacher from SFLS represented China to take part in the World Food Prize’s Global Youth Institute. It was the only team represented by non-native English speakers, and the voice of Chinese youth was heard for the first time on the world stage through the outstanding performance of SFLS students.
From 2013 to 2018, 30 students from SFLS had the honor to participate in the World Food Prize Ceremony and Global Youth Institute held in Des Moines, Iowa in October. Based on careful selection and in-depth research, they completed 30 high-quality English-language academic papers and in-depth discussions with high-school students from all over the world on agricultural issues. In addition, they exchanged views with previous winners of the World Food Prize and listened to high-end interviews of agricultural scientists, economists, politicians and well-known figures from all over the world. They have received world-wide praise for Chinese students at the World Food Prize Youth Institute.
In 2014, on the 20th anniversary of SFLS, Ambassador Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation sent a congratulatory video and letter. Following up the letter on July 2, 2019, Ambassador Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation, visited SFLS. After visiting the school, he spoke highly of SFLS’s educational philosophy and special courses. Then, in front of more than 300 students, he shared his deep respect for China and the major role played by the World Food Prize in promoting world agricultural development and world peace.
In order to further expand the influence of the World Food Prize in China and promote the friendship between Hebei Province and Iowa State, and also in view of the outstanding performance of SFLS students at the World Food Prize’s Global Youth Institute, Ambassador Quinn increased the number of students who will take part in the 2019 World Food Prize from 5 to 10, thus more SFLS students participated in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute.
The students of SFLS stepped onto the world stage via the World Food Prize, and made China heard around the world.
To the students, just keep going and we will have a promising future. In honor of 2019 World Food Prize and the 25th Anniversary of the Global Youth Institute and SFLS, we’d like to give our best wishes to the World Food Prize! SFLS will keep the close and friendly exchanges continuing with the World Food Prize. Let’s build a better future together!
中国河北石家庄外国语学校与世界粮食奖的不解之缘
——写在2019年世界粮食奖青年论坛和石家庄外国语学校25周年之际
石家庄外国语学校校长 裴红霞
世界粮食奖被誉为食品和农业领域的“诺贝尔奖”，是国际农业领域的最高荣誉，由诺贝尔和平奖获得者美国人诺曼•博洛格博士1986年设立，目的是奖励那些“为人类提供营养丰富、数量充足的粮食作出突出贡献的人”，每年十月，在总部美国艾奥瓦州得梅因市举行世界粮食奖颁奖典礼。中国前农业部部长何康和“杂交水稻之父”袁隆平分别于1993年和2004年获此奖项。2012年时任的国家副主席习近平在世界粮食奖总部出席中美农业高层研讨会并致辞。
世界粮食奖青年论坛由诺曼•博洛格博士于1994年发起，是全美也是全球最大的关于农业和粮食的青年项目，每年有200多名来自美国各州和世界各国的优秀高中生参加由世界粮食奖基金会组织的为期三天的青年论坛.
2012年6月4日，现任美国驻华大使、时任美国艾奥瓦州州长特里·布兰斯塔德率团访问石家庄外国语学校，在与学生面对面交谈中，他和萨拉·兰蒂夫人向学生们介绍了世界粮食奖和青年论坛项目，希望石外学生可以参加这个项目.
于是，在河北省与艾奥瓦州结好30周年之际，在世界粮食奖基金会主席坎昆大使和现任河北省政府外事办公室副主任、时任河北省友协执行会长叶长青的支持和帮助下，2013年10月，石家庄外国语学校6名师生代表中国参加世界粮食奖青年论坛，是唯一的一支母语非英语国家的代表队，石外学子以出色的表现在世界粮食奖青年论坛这个世界舞台上第一次发出中国青年的声音.
2013年至2018年，石外已有30名学生有幸参加每年十月在艾奥瓦州得梅因市举行的世界粮食奖颁奖典礼暨青年论坛，他们在精心选题、深入调研的基础上，完成了30篇高质量的全英文学术论文，和世界各国的高中生就世界范围内的农业问题进行深入探讨，与历届世界粮食奖的获奖者近距离交流，聆听各国农业科学家、经济学家、政治家和知名人物的高端访谈，在世界粮食奖青年论坛上为中国学生赢得了世界的掌声。
2014年石家庄外国语学校建校20周年校庆之际，世界粮食奖基金会主席坎昆大使特意发来祝贺的视频和贺信.
2019年7月2日，世界粮食奖基金会主席坎昆大使访问石外，在参观学校后，他对石外的教育理念和特色课程给予高度评价，随后与300多名石外学生分享了他的中国情结和世界粮食奖在推动世界农业发展与世界和平中所发挥的重大作用.
为了进一步扩大世界粮食奖在中国的影响，促进河北省与艾奥瓦州结好35年来的友谊，鉴于石外学生在世界粮食奖青年论坛上的出色表现，世界粮食奖基金会主席坎昆大使将石外参加2019年世界粮食奖青年论坛的学生名额从5人增加到10人，从此将有更多石外学子走上世界粮食奖青年论坛。
世界粮食奖，让石外学子走到世界舞台，让世界倾听中国声音。
继往开来，前景可期，在2019年世界粮食奖颁奖盛典和青年论坛25周年，石家庄外国语学校25周年校庆之际，我衷心祝愿世界粮食奖蓬勃发展！石家庄外国语学校愿意与世界粮食奖继续保持长期密切友好的交往，共创美好未来！
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