ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2019
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In the three months the application was open in 2019, over 7,000 young leaders applied to join the Class of 2019 on 1,209 campuses across 135 nations. 69 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 805 Millennium Fellows.
During the Millennium Fellowship, Millennium Fellows' dedicated 96,705 hours and their 422 unique projects positively impacted the lives of 564,366 people worldwide.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT LIDIA GEBREMEDHIN DILBATO, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2019.
EARTH University | San José, Costa Rica | Advancing SDG 12 & UNAI 9
" I am really excited to be part of the Millennium Fellowship team, of which I am sure I will get an excellent experience. I am delighted to have this opportunity because it will help me connect with different passionate people out there and to be able to share ideas that may have a positive impact on the way I think. Although this is the first time I have participated in an international team like this, I am sure that we can work together to make our world a better place to live in it. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: AgroManitos
Hunger is one of the biggest global challenge that needs immediate attention from everyone. With no specific solution to combat the problem, it is only right that everyone in one way or the other should get involved in the solution seeking because anyone can become a victim to it an any time and that does not exclude children. With the thought of seeing children grow into change makers, which the world so needs today, the Millennium Fellows at EARTH university initiated the project “Agromanitos.” The goal of this project is to equip children under the age of fifteen with beneficial skills so that they can understand from a young age the importance of agriculture.
The aim of the initiative “Agromanitos” is to design orchards mainly in primary schools from recycled materials collected on the school. The orchard would be attached to the already existing playgrounds of the school so that it is not something completely new for the children but rather a renovation of their area of comfort. With the plan of planting horticultural crops and medicinal plants in the orchard, the children will participate in the production of their own food while they continue to enjoy playing as their daily routine. After establishing the project, the EARTH university fellows will continue to supervise the development and growth of the project and will continue to hold timely workshops with the children through interactive games to keep the motivation among the children. The fellows will also continue to assist in the technical part of the production.
Because most children are reluctant to participate in activities that robes them of their time to play, we hope to achieve a 40% increase in participation every time we hold a workshop with the children. Maintaining a diverse type of interactive activities with the children will help us to keep their attention so that we do not lose anyone on the way.
It is also important to make mention of the fact that in the long run of this project, children will have a clear mindset of how agriculture is an important career and as they grow we hope they will feel the satisfaction of being an advocate for change especially in the sector of food security and environmental conservation.
This is an initiative that we would like the future fellows of EARTH university to continue to monitor of course with the help of the alumni.
About the Millennium Fellow
Lidia Gebremedhin is an Ethiopian and a senior student at EARTH University in Costa Rica majoring in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource Management. She is actively working on various community development projects in Costa Rica that promote sustainable agriculture and food security. Lidia is now developing a project which supports the SDG: 1 (Poverty Reduction) in Southern Ethiopia. It focuses on implementing a model dairy farm which will open a work opportunity for the women and young people in the community and be an educational center for the local farmers. Additionally, it will improve food security and sustainable farming.
