UN Young Leader urges planting fruit trees to boost nutrition and local incomes

The UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals said, "Everyone deserves free and complete access to a healthy source of nutrition," and urged governments to promote planting fruit trees as a low-cost way to improve food security and local livelihoods.

She said fruit trees "not only feed people and help the environment," but also let communities "use the same fruits to make products like jams and juices that they can sell and generate income within communities." The speaker presented planting fruit trees as a multifaceted proposal that addresses nutrition, environmental benefits and economic opportunity.

The speaker described her own routine to underscore personal engagement: she said she is a student who is typically "from 8:00am to 3:00pm" at school, then tends to matters for her organization, and that she trains in archery on weekdays and competes nationally and internationally. She used her athletic experience to illustrate the discipline needed for change, saying, "Just like in archery having a clear target matters. If we want change, we need focus, discipline and teamwork."

Speaking of youth engagement, she identified herself explicitly "As a UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals" and said she has "seen how powerful it is when young people and communities realize that they have a role to play," adding, "You do not have to be a world leader to make a difference. Every positive action counts."

The speaker listed priorities she views as shared challenges—"Health. Education. The environment. Equality and opportunities for young people." She closed by urging that children be included in decision-making about matters that affect them, saying it is "not fair that children sit outside of these rooms" and that involving all age groups in decisions is "not only fair, but wise."

The speech contained a proposal to promote fruit-tree planting and a plea for formal inclusion of children in decision-making; no vote or formal action was recorded in the transcript.