Do you remember the youth-led group advocating for stronger youth participation, engagement, and involvement in the global agri-policy spaces? It was formerly known as Rome-based Agencies (RBA) Youth Council, but now has changed to the Youth Alliance for Zero Hunger.
The Youth Alliance for Zero Hunger is a youth-led, youth-governed group to act as a conduit for evidence, examples, perspectives, and voices of youth to progress the goals of zero hunger and sustainable development. The Youth Alliance initially developed from discussions during the 45th Annual Session of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS45) which tackled topics about how to Attract, Engage, Recruit, and Retain Youth in Agriculture. Since then, the direction has further developed into the engagement and employment of youth in agriculture and food systems.
Today, the Youth Alliance has members from YPARD, World Farmers Organization, Nuffield International, 4H International, Youth Ag Summit, and young people literally engaged in different sectors of the agri-food systems (e.g. business, finance, research, academia, digital agriculture). The Alliance works closely with the United Nations Food Agencies, also known as Rome-based Agencies (RBAs), namely: the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Food Programme (WFP).
There are a lot of exciting activities and programs that the Alliance will be conducting with different global agricultural organizations, including intergovernmental bodies! This blogpost aims to share these opportunities with fellow YPARDians by letting those of you who are interested to get involved in the Youth Alliance. To do so, please fill out this Google Form here.
I will get in touch with those who respond to this call, and we can coordinate with respective YPARD Regional Coordinators and our YPARD Global Director on how we can better mobilize ourselves in relation to the Youth Alliances activities. The times have changed! The world now recognizes how critical it is to engage and have the youth involved in achieving sustainable agri-food systems. YPARD has been here for a long time advocating for this very moment. Lets work together and take action in shaping sustainable agri-food systems for the world!