FAO elearning Academy Global Youth Contest: From Learning to Impact

The Global Youth Contest: From Learning to Impact is run by the FAO elearning Academy, the free online learning platform of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in connection with the World Food Forum. It invites young learners and professionals to write a short story about how studying on the Academy changed their studies, career or community work. Entries are assessed by the FAO elearning Academy Evaluation Committee, which selects four winners, including one under the Plant Health courses category.

Those four travel to FAO headquarters in Rome for the World Food Forum in October 2026 and record a video interview featured on the Academy website, the FAO Education Hub on YouTube and FAO social media channels. Everything up to the award stage happens online, and entry costs nothing.

Benefits & funding

A fully funded trip to Rome for four winners, including one Plant Health courses category winner, to attend the World Food Forum from 12 to 15 October 2026, with all travel and participation costs covered.
A video interview featured on the FAO elearning Academy website, the FAO Education Hub on YouTube and FAO social media channels.
Entry is free, and the FAO elearning Academy courses and certified digital badges that support an entry are free as well.

Eligibility

Aged 18 to 35 years.
Open to applicants from any country or region; applicants belonging to underrepresented, vulnerable or marginalised groups are positively considered in the assessment.
Must be a registered learner of the FAO elearning Academy.
Must have completed FAO elearning Academy courses and obtained certified digital badges; no minimum number of badges is published.
The contest runs exclusively in English, and only stories written in English are considered.
Winners must be available to travel for the award and must hold a passport valid until at least April 2027.
Responses generated with artificial-intelligence tools are prohibited and cause immediate exclusion.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Age requirement
18–35 yrs

Check my eligibility — free

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Create an account on the FAO elearning Academy platform.
2
Explore the learning areas, complete courses of interest and earn certified digital badges.
3
Prepare a short impact story of at most 4 000 characters on how that learning shaped your knowledge, skills and academic or professional path.
4
Complete the online application form using the same email address as your FAO elearning Academy account, which is required for badge verification.
5
Provide a complete and accurate list of the badges you earned, include the impact story and submit before 31 July 2026, 23.59 CEST.
6
Shortlisted candidates are contacted for interviews; finalists are informed individually and every applicant is notified of the outcome.

Program timeline

Application deadline, 23.59 CEST
31 July 2026
After the deadline
Shortlisted candidates contacted for interviews
After the interviews
Finalists selected and informed individually; all applicants notified of the outcome
The four winners attend the World Food Forum at FAO headquarters in Rome
12–15 October 2026