Evi Vet, the new UN youth representative Biodiversity and Nutrition. Photo: Evi Vet Masters student Nutrition and Health Evi Vet announced her election on her Instagram page. She has been appointed for a two-year period. ‘I hold a bachelor degree in Plant Sciences and am currently doing my masters Nutrition and Health. So, when I saw the opening, I immediately thought: “hey, this really suits me!” An excellent opportunity to apply my knowledge.’
‘As a youth representative, you are the voice of Dutch youths, in my case, on the domain of Biodiversity and Nutrition.’, Vet explains. ‘You act as a guest lecturer in schools and represent the youth at several UN-summits. My goal is to inspire enthusiasm over biodiversity in as many youths as possible, to show them how biodiversity plays a role in their lives. Biodiversity is what you eat, what the Netherlands look like and how we envision our future.’
Long term
Vet occasionally worries about the future, ‘The intensive agriculture we apply throughout the world has a huge impact on soil quality, and on for how much longer we will be able to produce food. If we continue on this path, important plants such as bananas, cocoa and coffee, could go extinct. Large sections of forest and their inhabitants are lost to farming, in an effort to produce as much as possible. This won’t work in the long run.’
The role of youth representative is a part-time one, Vet states. ‘I expect to invest ten to twenty hours a week, next to my master’s Nutrition and Health.’ How busy she will be, will also depend on in what form the UN-summits are held. ‘Will the conferences be moved online or postponed? There is still much that is unclear.’ Many schools are currently also wary of having guest lecturers visit. ‘We are exploring different ways to reach scholars.’
Follow Evi Vet op Instagram and on the youth representatives account
