With pride and enthusiasm, we once again invite young changemakers to meet, engage and collaborate with fellow international students from all over the world for our 2023 Global Student Conference series. Our annual conferences are a cornerstone of the CAS Trips mission, and we are excited to announce the central theme that will inform next year’s series: The Future of Food: Global Issues, Local Solutions.
With a rapidly growing population, adopting sustainable production practices is critical if we are going to protect our planet and ensure a safe and bountiful future for generations to come. As always, we encourage students to engage with how these issues are threatening on a global scale and seek to find solutions that can be implemented locally. Closely aligned with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, conference participants will be tasked with working collaboratively to investigate, plan, and initiate an impactful long-term CAS Trips CAS Project Challenge project back home.
As we open registration for our upcoming conferences, we would like to dive deeper into the theme and let you know what you can expect if you join us in Boston, Singapore, or Edinburgh.
Why The Future of Food?
Every year, we aim to determine what pressing issue most deserves our students’ attention at the Global Student Conferences. For 2023, we agreed that the Future of Food rose above all else and should be the point of focus for students to analyze, discuss, and devise an action plan to address.
Global food production and consumption are at a critical tipping point, as complex issues like food waste, mass production, and industrial farming continue to pose risks. In addition, the global food and agriculture industries are responsible for over 25% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, continuing to contribute to the inequitable and unsustainable imbalance in food distribution.
With the ongoing effects on our climate, biodiversity, and vulnerable communities, it is clear that the future of food will impact generations to come.
The role of sustainability
The food supply chain is an area where there is an urgent need for improved sustainability. The UN expects the world population to rise by two billion over the next 30 years. With this sizable increase in population, we will need to increase the amount of food produced significantly.
Inevitably, this heightened demand will boost the amount of agricultural land required for food and the greenhouse gas emissions from food production. As such, we must now find sustainable solutions to address the negative impacts of increased production and ensure that future generations will have access to stable food supplies.
The fight against food waste and loss
Another critical concern that we plan to highlight in our upcoming conferences is the fight against food waste. According to the World Resources Institute, almost a quarter of food produced for human consumption goes uneaten. The causes of food waste and loss differ from continent to continent, with more than half occurring in North America and Europe.
This discrepancy highlights the imbalance in food efficiency between developed and developing countries. We will encourage students to think about ways developed countries can change consumer behavior while looking at how developing nations might be able to improve infrastructure and processes in the early stages of the supply chain.
Coming together to make a difference
Discussions and workshops at the Global Student Conference will cross a diverse range of sectors to develop a greater understanding of ways to minimize negative impacts and maximize positive contributions within the food sector.
Our conferences are intended to inspire students to put words into action by discussing solutions and innovations that can help us positively impact the future of our food. Keynote speakers will deliver morning lectures, followed by staff-led breakout workshops that empower students to take action.
UN SDGs at the Global Student Conferences
As always, our Conferences are closely aligned with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By working collaboratively, students will also initiate, plan and partake in inspiring Service Challenges with charity partners and NGOs, tackling these goals to positively shape our planet’s future.
Win a Free Trip to Next Year’s Conferences!
Every year we host a challenge to offer motivated students a chance to participate in one of our Global Student Conferences free of charge. If you are interested in submitting a project for your chance to win, please find out more here about our CAS Project Challenge.
By showcasing your project in a short video, you are entered to win an all-expenses paid trip for your whole team to present your CAS Project Challenge at one of our Global Student Conferences in Boston, Edinburgh, or Singapore. You have until 12 pm CET on the 20th of December 2022 to submit your video and be entered the win the experience of a lifetime.
You can find everything you need to know about the CAS Project Challenge here.
Details of our 2023 Global Student Conferences
3 – 8 July, 2023
Enrollment closes: May 1st, 2023
July 17 – 22, 2023
Enrollment closes: May 1st, 2023
31 July – 5 August 2023
Enrollment closes: May 1st, 2023
The itinerary for each conference is all-inclusive of local transport, airport transfers, accommodation, all meals, CAS activities, and CAS Trips staff. Trained and qualified professionals lead all activities, while our dedicated CAS Trips team will be on hand to assist every step of the way, 24 hours a day – from the arrivals gate to the departure lounge.
