Young people are often the most passionate voices on climate change, and with reason – as the planet warms over the coming century, it is the future of the youngest at stake.
As such, it is often youth that are the loudest and the most ambitious in calling for action, proving to be anything from serious combatants to potential allies to the politicians in charge.
As part of YPARD’s ongoing partnership with Farming First – we are looking for this month’s young contributor who will be featured on Farming First’s popular blog, which receives thousands of visitors each month!
This month, in the lead up to World Water Week, we are calling for young writers’ contribution for August on the topic: “The water, energy and food security nexus”. Water, energy and food security issues are often dealt with independently, but they need to be seen as interdependent. For example: it takes 1300 litres of water to make 1kg of wheat.
The CGIAR has embarked on establishing guidelines on capacity development (CapDev). In line with the renewed emphasis on enhanced partnerships within the CGIAR Research Programs and the priorities and work of the CGIAR Centers, the CapDev Working Group is seeking views of a range of organizations and resource persons on the draft document. The CapDev Conference of Partners will then review the revised draft document in early September. Clearly, the paper will have importance within the ongoing CGIAR Reform to frame the fundamental, cross-cutting role of capacity development in support of agricultural innovation and research for development for smallholder farmers.
GFAR has been asked to help obtain feedback on the draft guidelines from a range of partners. We would very much hope that as an individual or as a focal point for your institution or network, you and your constituent networks would wish to review and comment on the document. This is an opportunity to influence the paper and process with far reaching consequences for agricultural research at global, regional and national level. Please find attached the draft document as well as the link: bit.ly/1ksMfVH.
ITU today announced a call for innovations, a global hunt for the innovators, makers or entrepreneurs who are using technologies such as 3D printing or advanced robotics, or working within fields such as bio-mimicry, which uses technological innovations to imitate nature in order to solve problems – those who can make a real difference in a rapidly evolving and changing world. The call was launched in conjunction with innovation partner Ars Electronica. Selected innovations will be showcased at the upcoming ITU Telecom World 2014 in Doha this December.
“The advent of technologies such as 3D Printing, robots and Unarmed, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – or UUAVs – have significantly enhanced the possibilities for transforming lives, especially in the remotest corners of the world,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré. “I am delighted that our upcoming event in Doha will provide the ideal platform to showcase these technologies to a global audience and help us realize their full potential.”
Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) is a global network of young people who work directly or indirectly in the fields of agriculture and development. They collaborate through a global collective platform to contribute to innovative and sustainable agricultural development. Their work consists in sharing knowledge and information, participating to thematic meetings and debates, promoting agriculture among young people, and organizing workshops and trainings for local YPARD members.
Food Tank interviewed Rebeca Souza, a YPARD representative in Brazil.
Several strategic activities, like YPARD China Youth Elite Round Table Discuss, YPARD China web intern training or the YPARD annual conference, were held at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) during the YPARD China Week. By making use of this opportunity, YPARD China got together several young elites in the agricultural field to develop YPARD China business plan for 2014-2018. The main plan’s drafters were young researchers and teachers from Chinese leading agricultural universities as well as the high-profile elite from student organizations and NGOs.
During this process, we adopted some suggestions from Codrin Paveliuc, Chairman of YPARD Steering Committee, Dr. R. Seenivasan, former YPARD Asia Coordinator and Jieying Bi, YPARD China representative. Through several rounds of discussions among the main drafters, a formalized business plan was finally settled.
As we sat listening to the many speakers at the first Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) in Warsaw last year, we began to envision a future for ourselves in which we could be engaged professionally in tackling some of the complex, inter-dependent issues – those “wicked problems” – about which we heard so much. Although we were all freshly-minted Masters graduates in sustainable agricultural development, the introduction to the landscape approach afforded us a new and broader perspective on the meaning of – and pathways for – achieving sustainable development.
The messages from the GLF were clear. There is a pressing need to invest in the sustainability of all the interrelated facets of a landscape to develop sound policy options for their governance, and to work towards better comprehension of climate change mitigation, and adaptation, and the interaction of the two.
A youth group with grand farming plans is not something you stumble upon everyday, especially when young people are more interested in jobs in the city, than staying on the family farm. But the members of Lower Kamula Youth Group in Western Kenya are shaking up their community as they are staying put while empowering other young people in the area to embrace a bright future as farmers.
Jack Onyango is a man with many roles. At 30 years of age he is old enough to be considered a village elder, while still excelling in his role as group leader for the Lower Kamula Youth Group. He is also working around the clock as a small-scale farmer to help support his family.
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