Virtual Events, September 2025
Written by Natalie Widel, Director of Digital Marketing | Published: September 8, 2025
Supporters Enjoy Cool Virtual Events During Steamy Summer
Population Connection stayed cool enjoying our summer 2025 virtual events! You can find recordings and see what we have in store for the coming months here. Virtual events are offered to all Population Connection members and supporters. Curious about how to join? Email us at engage@popconnect.org. We hope to “see” you soon!
June Events
We held the first event of a special new virtual series, Partner Perspectives: Site Visits in Guatemala, in June. Senior Analyst Hannah Evans spent two weeks in Guatemala this spring, visiting four of our recent Global Partner grantees who operate in the country. This first event featured Seeds for a Future, an organization dedicated to providing long-term training for rural families and communities in Guatemala to grow their own sustainable and healthy food.
Together with Leilani Yats, Executive Director of Seeds for a Future, Hannah discussed the food security challenges facing many rural Guatemalan families and Seeds’ innovative programs to combat them. Founded in 2007, Seeds has served over 32,000 families to date, working hard to turn the tide on malnutrition, growth stunting among children, and other issues caused by lack of access to plentiful and nutritious food.
July Events
In celebration of World Population Day, the Population Connection Communications team gave a presentation entitled: Population Panic? Unpacking Public Perception and Media Messaging. During this event, they discussed the findings from a survey we ran with highly regarded polling firm YouGov, in an effort to evaluate Americans’ understanding of and concerns around population issues.
Some key takeaways from the survey include:
- The general public is ill-informed about population sizes and trends, which is likely being exacerbated by the barrage of media stories about declining fertility rates.
- Most respondents are not concerned about declining birth rates or global population growth, though concern over population growth is higher than concern over low birth rates.
- Conservatives are more concerned about declining birth rates and changing family norms, while liberals are more concerned about global population growth and its environmental impacts.
- There is clearly a need for organizations like Population Connection to continue to push back against “baby bust” misinformation, and to raise awareness of population trends and impacts.
We also hosted David Lin, Chief Science Officer of the Global Footprint Network, for an event marking Earth Overshoot Day — the date when humanity has used up nature’s entire annual “budget” of renewable ecological resources and services. It fell on July 24 this year, meaning that humanity is currently using nature 80% faster than Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate. David joined us to discuss in more detail what “overshoot” means for our planet, and ways we can work together to #MoveTheDate to later in the year going forward.
August Events
The second installment of our Partner Perspectives series took place in August. This event focused on our Global Partner Maya Health Alliance, also known as Wuqu’ Kawoq. Hannah led the presentation, along with Anne Kraemer, co-founder and CEO of Maya Health Alliance.
Since 2007, Maya Health Alliance has been advancing quality health care services in rural regions of Guatemala. Their approach combines medicine, culture, and language local to each community to overcome common barriers to care. Their programs improve women’s health, maternal and infant health, and chronic disease outcomes. Hannah provided an important overview of Guatemala’s demographic trends before diving into photos and stories from her site visit.
Every other month, Population Connection members and supporters meet via Zoom to discuss a book or long-form publication and how the ideas presented relate to population issues. During our August meeting, we discussed The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024, edited by Bill McKibben and Jaime Green. This compelling anthology brings together 20 powerful essays that reflect on a year marked by environmental upheaval and awe-inspiring natural phenomena. From wildfires and biodiversity loss to innovative efforts to protect wildlife, these stories offer both urgency and hope as we consider humanity’s evolving relationship with the planet.
Natalie Widel: nwidel@popconnect.org