Youth in the Americas Have the Solutions – Are We Ready to Invest?

Good afternoon, everyone. It's great to see you all here today. We have a wonderful conversation about youth across the Americas.

So let's get started.

Good afternoon to you and welcome to this space and this conversation on the American continent and young people. Before we begin, just a reminder, this session will be held in Spanish and English. There's interpretation into languages for those of you who are with us here today at the FAO and if you're online also. If you're in the room You can get a headset to hear the interpreting at the entrance to listen to the meeting.

Today's session will be in both English and Spanish. Interpretations will be available in the room and online. If you're in the room, you can check at your seats, you'll see an interpretation device, and you can choose whichever language you prefer.

A very special greeting to all.

Very warm greetings to everybody who is here with us today here at the FAO and all of those of you who are online from the Americas and elsewhere in the world. I'm Sofia. I'm proud to be from Colombia. I work at the Office of Youth and Women here in FAO. It's a delight to be with you today to start this conversation.

Yvonne Brown, and I'm joining you from representing the World Food Forum Jamaica chapter. And this conversation is especially important to me as I am from the region. My co-moderator is Sophie, and of course, I look forward to wonderful discussions coming from the audience and from the room online.

And I think the fact that we have so many here today, we can see the diversity of the Americas, and that's why we're also holding the session in two languages. We are a continent with many different cultures and peoples, and that diversity doesn't just make us different, but it also gives us the opportunity to learn from each other, to find common points, and to discover that even though we come from different places, we can build a better future together.

Some different perspectives to talk about solutions, young people already driving across the Americas.

These solutions are not just ideas for the future. Young people are already coming up with solutions and carrying out tangible actions in their own communities and their own regions.

One of the key platforms supporting youth action is the World Food Forum National Youth Chapters, which connect young people with institutions, partners that help to turn ideas into action.

National chapters create spaces for young people to be organized, to participate, and to carry out their ideas.

That's why we're here bringing together voices from Latin America and the Caribbean and North America today. We'll hear from young people, governments, FAO, and other partners about what's already happening across the continent and what is needed to sustain and scale that action.

For these initiatives to be able to bring about lasting changes, young people need opportunities, resources, alliances, and spaces where they can take part and lead.

This brings us to the central question of today's conversation. Youth in the Americas have the solution.

Are we ready to invest?

In the last few months, young people from the Americas have been getting organized. One of the key moments was the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, where the first Young Person Declaration was presented. To give you a reminder of how we got this far, let's have a look at some key points in that process. Now, to hear a little bit more about this regional process, what better way than to listen to Mr. Rene Orellana Halkia, the Deputy Director General of the FAO and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Orellana, welcome. You have the floor.

Thank you very much and greetings to Ms. Xochitl Guadarrama from Mexico, our ambassador also. Young people, representatives, today I was fortunate enough to talk to young people for around 40 minutes and listening to them was a great experience, particularly after the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Conference held in Brazil this year in March, which has left a legacy of tasks and actions to continue over the forthcoming two years before the next conference, which will be held in El Salvador. Are there people from El Salvador here with us today? Well, we have a mission before the next conference. I'd like to flag that one of the key tasks that we have as a mandate from this conference is to address hunger. There aren't many countries that have managed to come off this map of hunger, so that's a really important goal that we have to work for in this agenda. But we've also made major headway in the region. policies are being pushed forward in various countries, and these are very important, that show markets for the people, for instance, Panama, to quote an example, the well-being shops in the case of Mexico, school feeding programs that are being carried out in all countries in Latin America. as well as adult elderly feeding programs, which are addressing hunger very successfully. As you know, the prevalence of underfeeding has a lot to do with the calories that we eat, but there are other central components, which is nutritional food in particular. And that's something that we have to work on, on nutritious shopping baskets for our families and people who are part of our peoples and our nations. A recent study published by the FAO, SOFI, the SOFI report states that nutritional food, a healthy nutritional diet, per person per day is the highest in Latin America compared to other regions of the world. And why, then, is it the highest? Between 70 and 75 percent, then, of the price that we pay when we go to buy healthy food at the market, it comes from the farm and the production that comes out of that farm until it gets to the market, in that stage there, 70% of the cost lies that we are paying for a foodstuff. So what does that stage, which is so important in the price of food, make up? Well, it's logistics, intermediaries, trade, but also transport. road conditions, the proximity of markets to producers, trade circuits, which are sometimes long and laborious and involve many middle players, the cold chain logistics so that food can reach its destination in a proper state. That's where 70 to 75% of the cost comes from. And I was saying to these young people, we need to support our governments in our region to make sure that we have targeted policies to bring that 75% down, and that means better roads, better, more closer markets to producers. We need popular markets, farmers markets like these well-being shops that we have, and the program I mentioned in Panama. food supplies, building transport infrastructure and logistics. We've got a lot to do there. And young people face a huge challenge to envisage, to create, to propose and to enrich our policies. Obviously, we also need to strengthen existing school feeding programs, for instance. There have been major steps, school allotments, for instance, or vegetable gardens that a number of countries have developed. Also, school kitchens where the parents and families can take part and cook for school children. Using local food. and including locally sourced food on school diets. And that's something that young people can really drive forward. And that was one of the topics that we talked about in our brief meeting today. Also, following up the agenda that we've set for the next two years, we've still got just under a year and a half to put in place this complex agenda, which entails strengthening biofertilizers. In a very complex moment, fertilizers are increasingly expensive, exacerbated by the price of fuel, which increases the price of urea and other key inputs, which mean that these are all fertilizers used for agriculture. So we need tangible coherent strategies to strengthen that very important aspect, the biofertilizer industry. And there are various interesting proposals and projects in the Andean region, in Central America that are... technologies and development processes underway that require policies to be bolstered. We want to also invite young people to be engaged in what the FAO has called parliamentary fronts. We support every country and support lawmakers, whatever their vision, whatever their political belonging be, we have to come up with a community of ideas and the capacity to come together to put in place regulations and laws in all of our countries. I've been lucky enough to visit several countries, and the parliamentary agenda in Parlantina, Parlant Suer, the Andean Parliament, parliamentary groups in the Caribbean region. have this agenda where young people can really play a key role. And forums like this and others -- we'll be holding another before the next World Food Forum and before the next Latin America conference -- we have this agenda which should allow us to hear how young people have managed to play a role in this. So, once again, I'd like to invite you to continue on this path of creativity, entrepreneurship, activism, capacity to organize young people in their own countries and communities so that you can organize yourselves to strengthen value chains, to produce, to ensure we have school food and policies that improve access to food and nutrition, and all of this unarguably has a huge impact. We have dynamic creators, entrepreneurs, activists who can, who are the people who can link up producers in rural regions, peasants, everybody who is part of the value chain, including those who process, who are involved in industry and who trade. It's that creative vitality that we need to hear and to learn from and to support so that we can also make it into actions that have an impact on our peoples and our countries. Thank you very much, and congratulations on this encounter.

Thank you, ADG, for opening the space for this engagement. And thank you to the FAO for opening this conference as well for young persons to participate. I was also a member of the Youth Policy Board, and I also participated in the regional conference held earlier this year, and it motivated me to go back to my country to drive local action. Now, I think it would be important to hear from somebody else who assisted in the process. Maria Jose, the Costa Rican National Youth Chapter lead and previous Youth Policy Board member who participated in the regional conference.

The youth declaration was very important landmark for youth participation at the FAO. Maria Jose wasn't able to join us today in person, but she has sent us a message to share her experience in that process and some thoughts on how to make youth priorities into tangible results. So let's hear what she has to tell us.

Good afternoon. My name is Maria Jose Cervantes. I'm a young woman from Costa Rica, former member of the World Food Forum Youth Policy Board and current member of the Costa Rica National Youth Chapter and focal point for the Youth Declaration consultation process. Numbers tell the story. More than 400 young people representing over 22 countries, three UN platforms, one single declaration, a document that brought together differing realities but also common gaps. Indeed, despite our diversity, Latin America and the Caribbean still share many of the same gaps. Throughout this process, we found that young people need access to land, financing, knowledge exchange, healthy food and nutrition. In short, we need the conditions for a dignified life. With this consultation and bringing our voices together, we were able not only to reiterate the demands we are making, but also to build a collective strength, which is something we need in times of multiple crises like those we are experiencing today. It's that same collective drive, that same sense of hope that brings us together at this event. Because, indeed, young people are continuing to propose, to create and to embrace change, even in an adverse environment. This consultation process is simply a window to confirm that young people are the present. We are not the future. This is not just about making demands for a more sustainable future. It is also about intergenerational justice and gender justice. Food scarcity is already happening. Displacement and migration from rural areas are already happening. Crop loss is also happening in our countries. This cannot be left to the future. It has to be addressed in the present because we're talking about living well, about a dignified life, and about a new way of generating development from and for Latin America and the Caribbean. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, Maria Jose. Your experience and reflection, her story really shows us how consultations help bring priorities to the table. But how do we move from youth consultations to local action? This is where institutions have an important role to play, because real change happens when young people and institutions work hand in hand.

Indeed, Siobhan, and this commitment is also reflected in the recommendations on young people and agri-food systems from the food, well, food security. Together with the youth declaration that we've mentioned, we have a guide to continue strengthening leadership and participation of young people through this.

What are young people already doing in their communities and what do they need to take their initiatives further? And for this first conversation, we are joined by Jose, Youth Observer for UNA-USA to the United Nations. Jose, welcome to the stage.

Great, thank you very much. Good afternoon. Can we give it up for our speakers, Siobhan and Sophia? You guys are doing an amazing job. Now I have the immense pleasure of taking y'all on an adventure across the Americas. And by that I mean we're going to be hearing from our World Food Forum local chapter leads to hear about the work that's being happening on the ground. And it's really important. So let's one by one introduce our speakers to the stage. Representing the Columbia chapter, we have Samuel Soria. Representing our Peru chapter, Ana Paula Duyen. Representing our Argentina chapter, Facundo Cabreros. Yeah. Representing our Canadian chapter, Nova Scotia specifically, we have Neora Ip. And representing FAO and the Office of Latin America and the Caribbean, Valentina Morales. It's very comfortable. We're going to start with Samwo. What were some of the needs or gaps in your community that led to the creation of the chapter? And now that you're on the leadership, what is some of the youth participation that's really important for the future of the agri-food system?

Well, I'd like to start by telling you a story. We're part of a process that led to a Colombia chapter. We've had 70 years of armed conflict in rural areas. We've had various -- three different attempts for agrarian reform. And even through all of that, young people have resisted. From the 1990s onward, there have been various organizations and processes that laid the foundations for these organizations to create the youth chapter. For a year and a half, we now 12 youth platforms rolled out all over the country with some 270,000 young people seeking to reach some 3 million young people all over the country. We've consolidated a series of actions that ensure food security and sovereignty at the very lowest level from public policies. In the Colombia chapter, you might think, why trust in them? Why invest in them? Well, trusting means it's not just about putting money. Investing is not just money, it's also trust. We coordinate and catalyze the transformation of agri-food systems in Colombia. We have consolidated meetings with the ministries and public policies to make sure that young people are heard so that we can have an impact in a positive way from the present and the future on our agri-food systems. We've made changes involving different youth employment. We've worked with young people, with women, with UNICEF, so that we can work together to create a project portfolio that we've come up with from our chapter, our agroecology, food, teaching, climate resilience. We are strengthening capacities among young people in our region to feed the future starting from the present. Thank you very much.

Now, Ana Paula, in Peru, your chapter has placed a really strong focus on women's empowerment. How are you creating those opportunities for young women to lead and shape the agri-food system?

Well, firstly, good afternoon to everybody. I'd like to start by saying that rural women play a key role in agri-food systems. However, their work isn't acknowledged in equal conditions. Almost half of them don't get any pay for their work, and only 26% of public policies in agriculture that are officially reviewed include women's empowerment and gender equality. So this is why the Peru chapter has really focused on working on women's empowerment. We've been working on various mechanisms in the UN, the social and legal condition of women. We've also promoted various different women's empowerment and participation spaces among women in universities. We've also drawn on ancestral knowledge from indigenous women and traditional communities. Also, we are hoping to set up workshops for female farmers. In addition to all of that, we're coming up with a toolbox for activists so that for anywhere in the world, these young activist women can carry out their own women empowerment projects. However, we have to go beyond awareness raising, I think. It's not just talking about equality. We need also to guarantee it, because at the end of the day, you have to bear in mind social, institutional, regulatory conditions so that we can make sure there are equal opportunities. And that also includes a cross-cutting intersectional approach, which recognizes the barriers that rural women face, that can be socioeconomic, territorial, cultural. That's the only way we'll be able to come up with truly sustainable solutions in time so that women farmers can fully and truly exercise their rights. Any woman farmer should and must enjoy all the rights that all of us here today have access to resources, quality education, and above all, their decisions to be able to carry out their own projects with financial autonomy. And that's something that we hope to achieve. Thank you.

So on this side of the panel, we've discussed some really interesting points. The idea that addressing barriers is not enough. It's also important to provide young people, young women especially, with the tools and opportunities to take their ideas and turn them into action. And when they do so, they can act as bridges and connect capacity so that that capacity can grow and flourish. And those are all really, really important concepts that bring me to you. In terms of turning ideas into practical action and solutions, that's been central to your work with your local chapter in Argentina, correct? So how are you all working to promote this idea of practical youth-led solutions, and why is it important that this starts at the local level?

Good afternoon. I'm Facundo Cobreros. Like many Argentinians, I'm from a family linked to farming. I work at the moment for a venture capital fund which invests in agriculture and food. And so I'm constantly analyzing the various different needs that producers have to be able to link them up to the solutions that startups provide. Together with other members of the Argentina chapter, we've seen that there is something of a disjoint between these parts that I've mentioned. There are many entrepreneurs trying to solve huge problems which with current technology could be solved and have a huge impact on producers. At the same time, geographical distance between the countryside and the city is another barrier on technology. So these difficulties, together with FAO Argentina and the chapter, have led us to come up with what we call the Campo Beta program, which is program with young university students and young professionals to provide solutions to problems that Argentinian farmers face today. We have multidisciplinary teams, and in eight weeks, they must come up with a minimally viable product to solve a problem that they've already identified. At the end of the program, hopefully, we'll go into field pilot programs to be able to even closer to the beneficiaries. All of that has been made possible by two organizations, Cluster Agtech, which brings together 80 companies and institutions that help us to pinpoint problems that farmers face, and the National Technology University of Cordoba, which will support us with the development and execution of the program. What we are seeking today are organizations that want to make a commitment to these projects, either by funding pilot programs or providing support with entrepreneurs to help those people grow, incubations or accelerators, for instance. Also, this is an open project which can be replicated by all other national chapters. We're fully willing to share all of our know-how to be able to continue building a value and innovation and networking and the way that we produce our food. Thank you very much.

It's really important to acknowledge that when properly resourced, young people have the ability to ideate identify their challenges, build the proper partnerships, and then develop solutions, which leads me really, really well into Niora because in terms of solution building, your chapter in Nova Scotia has recently participated in something called the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Next Policy Framework consolidation process. Can you tell us what the consultation process was and why it's important that young people had the ability to participate and were at that table?

Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for your question. So just a bit of background about the agriculture, agri-food policy framework. So the open call for the consultation process was started to the Canadian provincial chapters by one of the World Food Forum Youth Policy Board members, William, in the audience. And the next policy framework is a five-year investment strategy developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. And it matters because it will shape the government's priorities, investment for 2026 to 2033. We saw it as a very important opportunity for youth across the country to have a say in the direction of our food system. as well as the provincial leadership teams of the Canadian youth chapters came together in August to develop our recommendations for the framework. So in this, we brought together different youth perspectives and experiences to think about what we want the future of Canada's food system to look like. We identified in our consultation five main priorities, the first being opportunities for youth and migrants. for the second being climate resilience and environmental sustainability, third being Indigenous food sovereignty, and the fourth being nutrition and food security, and then the last being market concentration and food affordability. So we want to emphasize that these priorities are not separate issues. They reflect inequalities and fragmentation within our food systems. And one of our main recommendations was for a more interconnected approach that brings together governments, youth, Indigenous rights holders, communities, and other stakeholders while also making existing government programs more accessible and accountable. The underlying question for us was our consultation entered around centered around the following question. So who will experience a growth under the next policy framework? Growth and competitiveness are both important, but they reflect but they need to reflect that they are accessible and affordable for all Canadians, particularly communities that have been historically left out And that's why youth participation is also so important. We're not only the ones who are going to experience the long-term impacts of decisions being made today, but we're also going to be part of the change and the next generation responsible for addressing them. So this consultation process is an example of the importance of World Food Forum National Youth Chapters. It's an opportunity that they provide to be able to provide a platform to a diverse group of youth to participate, come together, and advocate for the world that we hope to live in. And not just advocate together, but collectively integrate solutions as well.

Now, the four of you have done a pretty phenomenal job of taking us through this timeline of finding issues, ideating solutions, capacity building, shaping policy, and kind of making sure that youth are a part of every single part of that process. I'm hoping, Valentina, that you can kind of take us home, wrap it all up with a nice bow. We've talked about the Youth Declaration in the previous session. Right now, we're learning about all the amazing work that's going on at the local level with all of our chapters. Can you tell us a little bit about the work that FAO and your regional office specifically are doing to support the youth and the young people in all of their efforts? Thank you.

Thank you for the question.

Well, we have been talking about the initiatives that we can work on together with the regional office. Rather than just tell you, I'd like to invite you to be part of this initiative. And if you see any opportunities to connect, please do so. Please write to us. One of the first actions I'd like to flag, which links up to the declaration and a lot of what you've been saying, from the regional office, we've been pushing forward spaces for youth participation and leadership. We are providing spaces that aren't just side spaces, but rather connected to decision making and agri-food governance systems. The clearest example, there's been a lot of talk about that this week, which is something I'm really pleased about, is in the conference, is how we connect up young people's voices to the FAO conference, which was held in Brasilia this year. we connected up their voices, but also with them themselves, because we found out that often the World Food Forum network, we wanted to make sure that they are actually playing a role. So we provided this space. We make sure that they're active, and there are other spaces that are of a similar nature. Also, The office wants to make sure that we are involving rural young people, indigenous, Afro-descendant, and family farming, all young people. Secondly, capacity building, that's something that you do a lot of work on in your chapters. We have FAO campus, which is very important here. We carry out workshops with virtual tutors. where we work with young people to provide tools and knowledge so that they can design innovative solutions. We also do workshops for indigenous young people to strengthen their community leadership. And thirdly, perhaps this isn't as visible as in youth work and knowledge of the chapters, but the regional office also works heavily by supporting policy dialogues, identifying best practices, are working with governments. We have support programs such as the family farming and youth farming exchange cycle. We also have partners in the World Food Program as well. So we invite you to be part of all of these initiatives, to get in touch, to follow us, and to look at how through the chapters and the various initiatives, we can continue to build this youth structure in our region. Thank you very much.

And let's keep it going and I'll give a big thank you to all of our panelists. So thank you all for participating in this part of the conversation. We've had the opportunity to learn about how young people across the Americas are already identifying their challenges, developing solutions, and taking these ideas into their communities to take action. These experiences also remind us of the importance of creating conditions and opportunities for young people to continue leading that change. So if young people are already taking action, the question is this. How do we sustain that? How do we take the things that they're already doing and build the capacity, grow that capacity, and once we've grown it, how do we invest in that?

Thank you very much, Jose. Thank you so much to all of the panelists who've shared your experiences and points of view. We now invite you to stay seated and to continue listening to us. We've heard from very different initiatives, but there is something that they all have in common, which is that young people are doing specific work in their communities. And as Jose has said, the question is now, what does it take to sustain and scale up these efforts.

We want to put to all of you here today, if you could choose to change one thing that would make the biggest difference for youth who are making a difference to transform agri-food systems today, what would that be? Now, take a look at the options on the screen, scan the QR code and cast your vote.

Let's hear what you think. You've got a moment or two to vote on us, both here in the room and from online.

All right, let's see where we stand.

Bueno. Funding and finance.

We have a clear winner, it seems, at the moment.

And institutional support.

Now we're drawing.

Okay.

Wow, it's amazing.

Okay, here we have the results. We can see what our audience thinks. There are three top options. And it's not enough just to have good ideas. That's all very well, but you need the right conditions to be able to carry ideas out. That's something very different.

That's what we are going to explore next. What partnerships, resources, and institutional support do young people need to sustain and scale their initiatives? Because lasting change takes more than action alone. It takes all of us working together.

And to.

Start to look at how we can bring this about, we would like to hear from the perspective of international cooperation. It's a pleasure to welcome Xochitl Guadarrama, General Director of Planning, Assessment and International Cooperation for Development of the Mexican Cooperation Agency. Ms. Guadarrama, you have the floor.

Thank you so much, and greetings to the young people from our national chapters, the forum, authorities, partners from FAO, of course. It's an honor to open this panel on behalf of Mexico. We've heard the young people who are transforming their homelands. The challenge is not just for them to states to make sure that the countryside is the present and the future, but it be really affording a huge range of opportunities. And so this panel from international cooperation and alliances, we are the bridge between rural youth and the opportunities they need to turn their ideas into tangible, sustainable actions. That bridge is built in three ways: supporting, connecting, and continuing. Firstly, we support in Guatemala, in Chiquimula, We have a project for hunger, and with South-South triangular cooperation, we've supported 17 youth entrepreneurs in various regions in La Tuna. We have converted local demand for chicken into a business which has estimated profitability of 48 percent in the initial cycle. But you can't just build capacities. Training transforms lives when it's linked to real revenue opportunities. Secondly, as I said, connecting. How? Well, through South-South cooperation, we have ensured that young farmers from various countries who face similar challenges, for instance, climate change, water, food security, and market access, How do we do that? Well, we share knowledge and experiences and people learn from each other. That's the best kind of cooperation that we can do through South-South cooperation. It's also important to link up markets with school Food, for example, buying from family farming, opening up decision-making forums, for instance, the Youth Legislative Impact in the America, where a young woman from Clautla, Ana Gabriela Rojas, she shared her experience on rural women and food security. So I've mentioned three stages. The third is to ensure continuity. It's vital that we follow up actions, that we support young people. In Guatemala, for instance, we're supporting the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger on a school feeding law, which gave a national scope, which started off in schools. Since 2014, Mexico has provided over $18 million to the Mesoamerica Without Hunger, which is now working with nine countries and has bolstered 45 public policies and 60 regulatory frameworks. And that's something that is also spearheading Mexico. Young People Building the Future has brought together 3.6 million young people since 2019, giving them training. Seven out of every 10 of those now now has a job or productive activity. We're now sharing that experience in the region together with Sembrando Vida through the Together for Wellbeing program, which is a flagship program which we set up and which our President, Claudia Sheinbaum, has also continued. All of these experiences have given us four lessons: investing in young people requires a cross-cutting vision and a long and short-term vision, right from the school to the plate to productive life. That's something that has worked. Another point that we've learned is the specific opportunities and the foundations that are built through that. Young people who can help, who can bring about real change, training through technical assistance, through technology, financing, and access to markets. Next point, young people are not just beneficiaries, they are protagonists, they are key players with knowledge, innovation and above all, voice and decision-making capacity on their future. What works grassroot level should be scaled up to public policy to continue. And that's why in the mixed committee, Amexid, FAO, we've agreed on a global youth action initiative. American youth, you already have the solutions. It's It depends on your energy and, above all, your ideas. Let us work together so that the countryside be a future option for young people. Investing in rural youth is investing in the present and the future of our agri-food systems, our communities, and, it goes without saying, our region also. Mexico is willing to support in everything it can. Roberto Velasco, our foreign minister, sends his greetings. Alejandro Moral, also. And, of course, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, our president. And I'd also like to say that we have our ambassador. Thank you very much, ambassador, to you. And obviously, Alfredo.

Malleno.

Thank you very much, Mrs. Guadarrama, for sharing your point of view. The importance of cooperation to create opportunities is something you've really flagged, and the support for initiatives that young people are making.

Partnerships and support can work in practice. Please welcome Ms. Pamela Rosero, Communications Officer at FAO's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, who will guide our next conversation.

Thank you so much, Sophia and Siobhan, for this interesting introduction. As they mentioned, I am Pamela Rosero from the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, and I will be here with you in this next panel. So I will be sitting here to start. Okay, let me switch to Spanish. I understand that everybody has the translation. And precisely, I say, one of my notes.

We've just heard from you what conditions can push youth action to bring about changes in our agri-food systems. Although they are already transforming things in their own communities, we still need more resources and alliances to be able to take these initiatives further. Today, we are going to talk about how we can create those conditions through initiatives that young people lead. And we're going to hear from initiatives in regions and how we work with institutions and how we can continue building cooperation and alliances. So it's now a pleasure to introduce our panelists from the IDB, we're going to be hearing about the actions that are taken in the region on financing. Lina Salazar, please join us here on the stage. I'd also like to invite Valerie Rodriguez Vega from the National Chapter of the World Food Forum in Costa Rica. And now I'd like to invite William McManaman, a member of the Youth Policy Board of the World Food Forum. Also, let's welcome Osei Ahagun, Youth Observer from UNA USA to the United Nations.

We continue.

With Maria Spencer, the director of the Youth Food Laboratory from the State University of Pennsylvania. And last but not least, I'd like to welcome our colleague, Francine Jean, Food Security Officer for the FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, and also Youth Focal Point for the Caribbean. So without further ado, let's get this panel started. Lina, I'd like to start with you. Please tell us, from the perspective of financing systems, how can these mechanisms support and promote more alliances to ensure youth leadership, whilst ensuring that priorities are linked to the development agendas that we promote?

Well, thank you very much for the question. Firstly, I'd like to give my greetings to everybody who is here today. It's a delight to be a panelist today on this key issue for the region. In answer to your question, I think we should also start by changing the narrative a little bit. Linking up young people to development agendas is a bit like bringing young people into something that already exists, that they haven't been part of to date. So for me, I think we need to look at how we can change that. How can they actually transform development agendas and be part and parcel of those agendas without inviting them in afterwards to have a say on policies or agendas that have already been drawn up. We want them to have a power and a voice to transform those agendas. A clear example in rural matters is education. Here, I think we still have models that are failing to work for young rural people. They're not responding to their aspirations, the opportunities that they're seeking. are they not helping to change their livelihoods. We still have educational models that are very focused on urban models without thinking about digital matters, rural transformation, financial management for entrepreneurship, trade and management. So I think young people need to be on board from the outset. And of course, when it comes to multilateral organizations for investment, our role is to support governments in developing investments and to carry out specific interventions. So how can, right from the outset, we bring young people on board to co-create and design these interventions? That's one point. Also, I think we need to look at the barriers facing young rural people, particularly those that are gender-based. Young women, we know, face very different barriers to young men, and they particularly are burdened with unpaid care duties, for instance. And that has an impact on them. That means that they have fewer possibilities to go forward to create entrepreneurs, and it also affects their food security. So we need to look at how those distinct gender barriers have a role also. Lastly, on evaluation, we need to make sure that our investments, our development agendas, our initiatives are actually having a positive impact on young people's lives. Impact assessments that measure different impacts for young men and young women are key to understand what works and what doesn't. Those are the points that I wanted to raise.

Thank you very much, Lina. That's really important information. As you were saying, bringing institutional work and linking that up to youth priorities, looking at where young people have opportunities. I think this is something that the Youth Forum through the World Food Forum has done. And so I'd now like to go forward with Valerie for you to tell us how one of the initiatives that Costa Rica chapter is doing, how that has contributed to this and what challenges you've faced and how you've managed to turn all this into practice.

Thank you. First of all, thank you and good afternoon from the Costa Rican chapter. It is an honor to be here with you and to tell you about this project. The title is planting incidents from Costa Rica. What does this come from? From our concern that our agri-food system is getting older. Data states that the owners have 56 years or are 56 or more. So where are the young people? So we ask the question, how can we drive this forward? We started creating this project where we are motivating four elements that are hugely important, and that is how to carry young people with the knowledge of what a vegetable garden is, what is the agricultural activity that is to be done. This we're doing in the Liceo de Santa Barbara de Heredia. And after that, we promote nutrition because, yeah, we talk about agri-food systems, but where does nutrition stand in all this? So we need to motivate young people so that they know that what we eat is important and has an impact on us as people and on our health. And then we have the political incidents because food is not just what reaches our tables. It goes beyond what are the policies behind them, what are the processes. And so as young people, we need to be leaders of projects such as these to start them and to guide them. And we have had unbelievable allies that have really supported us scaling up nutrition. the Sun Movement. We work in Costa Rica with the University of Medical Sciences, USIMED and UCR, and with the Network of Young People and Climate Change. And as a chapter, well, we're all young people, but we also have entities that wish to support youth activities. What is my message with this project, or what is the message we'd like to convey about the importance of investing in these projects, of allowing young people to lead for our voices to matter. And okay, young people are not looking at agricultural production, but is agricultural production looking at young people? It is important to ask that question and to have impact. And I'd like to conclude by saying that often we are told you are the future, but we can also be the present. That is an extremely important statement for me because we can start changing the world immediately. If we are motivated, we can do great things. And that is something we can all achieve by working together. So thank you very much.

Thank you, Valerie, for this inspiring experience you have told us about from the Costa Rican chapter. And you said that it is a two-way path, so to speak, how young people can contribute to designing public policies, designing, coming up with investments, how should we invest in the agri-food systems, but are we willing to propose and act as well. And so it is a pleasure to meet William, who is going to tell us about the actions they are carrying out from the Youth Board.

Question, so tell us a little more, how is your role as Youth Policy board member ensuring North America youth are systematically included in the future of agri-food systems.

Thank you very much. Good evening everyone. So as an agrologist and a farmer myself working in a Nigerian farming community in North America, a little bit like just mentioned, I see every day how youth importance in the future of agricultural system is something that I can see first hand and how important it is to bring younger generation engage into agri-food system. My interest in how our sector evolves and my drive to find solution really motivated me to be involved and make a difference. If I speak from the perspective of my experience as a youth policy board member, or as we call it, a YPB of the World Food Forum Youth Assembly, I ensure that North American youth voices, realities, priorities are reflected in the policies that shapes the future of our agri-food system. And that start by conducting youth consultation where we can reach an impressive amount of people by internet, like consultation online or in person, but also through the help of the national youth chapter who help to, with this process by disseminating the call through their local networks. I also work with the young scientists group, who provide scientific evidence and the technical knowledge. So basically, I see my role as a facilitator that brings all those experience together and put them into policy recommendation. There is the regional assembly, but a concrete example of the work I did as the thematic lead on livestock is where I co-created-- there was a co-creation with FAO. of a youth statement with youth vision that was submitted to the COAG subcommittee on livestock for the global plan of action of sustainable livestock transformation. I think the way FAO involve young people through the YPB from the beginning of this process will help to build their interest and engagement and encourage them to stay even more involved throughout the implementation process. Another example is at home in Canada, where I volunteer on the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, which provide a similar platform for young people to engage, but this time with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, where we contribute to, in the past, to the national policy framework discussion, including those discussion, like Nera just mentioned previously, from the Canada chapter. After this, sorry. So all these examples of inclusion show how young people can contribute to shaping the agri-food future. But inclusion needs to be beyond that seat at the table. Youth participation needs to be embedded into our agri-food systems. For policy, this means that young youth are meaningfully engaged throughout the entire policy process, from setting priorities and designing policies, implementation and evaluation. And this means ensuring policymakers reflect the diversity of communities they serve and understand their different perspectives and needs, leaving no one behind, by including women, indigenous people, cultural and socio-economic groups, and other communities relevant to this local context. I also mean by supporting generational renewal by creating real pathways for young people to enter, remain in, and contribute to the sector. And as Dr. Philippe Pollier, the UN Assistant Secretary General for Youth Affairs, reminded us during the meeting this week, youth are critical to accelerate progress. And I think that to unlock this incredible potential, we need to have a genuine intergenerational dialogue, not just as a box to check, but as a space created for young people and decision makers to learn from one another and co-create solutions. In conclusion, to have youth included in the policies, policymakers need to create that space and we, as young people, should contribute according to our individual capacities and share our ideas whenever we can. And if you want to see a little bit more about policy making and how youth were involved, there was this good session this morning here at the World Food Forum that you can see on the YouTube channel of the World Food Forum. called YM15, Future Ready Agri-Food Governance. Are we ready to listen to you? So I invite you to have a look at this powerful message during that session. Thank you.

Thank you very much, William, for sharing your experience and your perspectives and some actions that are taking place. To continue, and as I mentioned.

So moving on, and as Sophie and Chifon said, this panel also seeks to address how alliances and inter-institutional cooperation can also contribute to youth action. And now I'd like to invite Maria Spencer, the director from the Youth Food Lab, to tell us how academia and academic institutions contribute and what you're doing to promote youth action in agri-food systems. Thank you very much.

Yes, thank you so much. A couple things that came out in this panel that I want to highlight. Number one, I love youth are not the future, they're the present. That's sort of one of the foundations that we are building our program on. The other thing that came out in the voting today is that partnerships and resources like that can come from partnerships are as important or almost as important as the financing itself. I think one of the realities, let me back up and talk about, so I represent the Youth Food Lab for North America. We are part of a network of youth food labs that are being hosted. by the World Food Forum. And so between myself and some other partners around the world, we are providing networks and resources for young innovators who are working towards global food security. And I think the premise that our group is working from, and again, we're part of a large network where everyone contributes something, whether it's education or another resource based on what you have available. We look at the needs that young innovators have and realize that there is never going to be enough money for young innovators to receive 50 or 100 or a half a million dollar investment every time. There just is not that kind of money available. So we have to figure out how to do more with less because young innovators come to the table with very good ideas, but also not large retirement accounts to draw from, as maybe a more seasoned entrepreneur would have. we are trying to reduce the cost of helping young innovators with technical assistance. And we do this by having young people help young people. Because not only do young people have ideas, but they also have knowledge that can be shared with others. And so, you know, we create and with the the World Food Forum partnership, we create a network where young people can come together and be the recipient of assistance, but also provide assistance. So one example, we had a young young woman who has a background in aquaponics. She had an interesting technology. She went through our program. She received technical assistance. She found it so motivating, so helpful. She came and said, "You know what? I want to help the next entrepreneur through." And so now she is sharing what she has learned with the next crop of young innovators. And so I think it's a very reciprocal relationship, and we can do it with very little in terms of monetary investment.

Thank you very much. It's very true. I think you have the potential to make actions, find solutions and innovate together with this kind of partnerships with academia. Thank you very much.

So moving on, as I said, we also have on the panel our colleague, Franzen, from the FAO Food Security Office. He's also a youth champion. Franzen, I'd like you to tell us what mechanisms can be put in place so that international organizations like AFEYO can connect up youth voices to creation and design of public policies. Please go ahead.

Thank you very much, Pamela. It's a great pleasure to be here with you. I'm going to answer in English, I think.

Into English. Well, throughout the week, a lot have been said when it comes to what international organizations can do to bring the voices of young people closer to government programs, policies, and regional agendas. What I have done is that I summarize all these into four mechanisms, if I can use that word. The first one has to see with spaces, spaces for the young people. I'm not talking about any type of spaces. I'm talking about youth-led, youth-owned, and importantly, permanent spaces. Too often what happens is that we have spaces that are created, and I think in one of the presentations I participated in earlier, someone mentioned that over 60% of the organizations created, after a short period of time, they disappear. So there is a huge work that international organizations can do in making sure that those organizations are sustained. those existing organization are sustained. For those organizations to be sustained, there is a lot that need to be done. They need the time of young people. There is need for space to operate. There is need for small resources to implement ideas. There is need for capacity to lead young people and their groups. international organization can step in to provide resources in terms of startup funding required for governance, for financial management of those spaces. And also importantly, I think international organization can provide support in terms of leadership development, skills in terms of policy literacy, negotiation skills, communications, and so on. And also, one thing that I have realized, young people need a lot of mentorship, coaching, and importantly, intergenerational knowledge transfer. I think international organization can do a lot there. and also as mentioned earlier, your organization will have ideas to be able to develop ideas the best way possible, implement those ideas and monitor those ideas, they need funds. And I think all international organization, organization can help them to get access to funds. And also importantly, one thing I should mention, throughout the week, somewhere it, it has been mentioned that We already have a lot of organizations, youth spaces, whether it is advisory group, forums, councils, network, you name it. They have mentioned that we already have a lot. Maybe the importance is to strengthen what we have and not create a new one. I am in agreement with that, but also I would mentioned that in many parts of our countries and many part of our region, sub regions, they still need to create those spaces. And I think international organization can provide technical assistance needed, guidance, clear mandates and governing power to establish those spaces. And if you allow me, let me mention two other mechanisms I think international organization can support. International organizations can also be a vehicle for voices of young people and seed of developing youth related projects for young people to benefit. They can bring young people on board to lead those projects. That goes together, those projects and interventions, that goes together with making sure that we have a clear pathway in terms of bringing interns, young professionals into the systems of those international organisations. so they can become long-term professionals into the organization. So instead of testing the food, they can be in the kitchen producing, preparing the food, and delivering the food, and monitoring the food. And lastly, I think international organizations can play an important role in making sure that government institutions we are working with can be youth responsive. And there is a lot of way they can do that, making sure that they have access to youth sensitive data and information and intelligence for decision making and policy development and implementation. I'm referring to, for instance, simple, regular youth polls, surveys. I'm talking about youth thematic reports coming from, for instance, a national agricultural census. And so on. And also importantly, I think what I have seen in many, okay, and international organizations can be important also in making sure that government institutions can build the capacity of the new generation of public sector professionals. And lastly, making sure that they can be financial and mechanisms, the risk and mechanisms that can allow governments to fund programs that they have and so on. So I will stop here and sorry for that. I took too long.

I think, yeah. Thank you, thank you very much. As I mentioned, is very passionate and a champion of youth. But as you said, I think it's very important to understand how the youth can be involved in projects and programs because they can be part of the design of this. We are going to continue the reflections and analyzing how we can create tools and mechanisms to integrate the youth in our programs. So we are going to continue this discussion.

Having heard now so many different perspectives, we'd now like to hear from you. We'd like to hear your voices, the voices of the people who are here with us in the room and online. And once again, to do so, I'd like to invite Sofia and Siobhan to come back to take this part of the session.

Muchas gracias, Pamela.

Thank you very much, Permilla. Thank you very much, everybody. We would like to hear from our audience now. We've heard various perspectives on how to support youth leadership, and now we'd like to hear from you.

If you have a question for any of our panellists, please raise your hand. Also, I think we should be taking a few questions from our online audience with the help of Alina.

Yeah. Aleyna is going to hand the microphone around.

We have some hands raised.

Hi, my name is Jayru. I'm currently a student in North America. My question is for Mr. Frenzen. I'd love to hear more about when a Youth Lead Initiative works well in one community, how can it be expanded to other contexts without losing the local knowledge and leadership that made it successful?

Should I respond or we take more questions? Excuse me, can you repeat the question again? Sorry.

Sure. So when a UFLI initiative is working well in one community, how can we think about expanding it to other contexts as well without losing a lot of the local knowledge and leadership that made it successful?

That's a very good question. That's a very good question. Taking context is important. What I have in Barbados will be totally different from what I have in Haiti. I think, first of all, it's good, it's very important that we understand, we analyze the contexts before taking something from Barbados to Haiti, first of all. And once we finish to do that, and I think whatever the experience is, for instance, in the context of Barbados, we should try to find the best way to adapt that to the context of Haiti. And I hope that I am understanding your question. So we have a very good experience, for instance, in Barbados, how we can make sure that we transfer that experience to Haiti without, I'm taking two examples, to Haiti without without losing the context of each of those places. So the way how I say it is that there is a need to understand those different contexts, analyze them, and after analyzing them, you can systematize this experience and adapt it to the context of the other country. That's kind of the way how I understand it, and I hope that I responded properly to your question. So you understand first, you analyze it, you systematize it, and you adapt it to the context of the other country.

All right, we'll have a few more questions from the audience.

Hi, thank you. This question is maybe especially for Lina. I would like to know maybe sometimes young people and institutions have different perspectives on what needs to be prioritized. How can partnerships bring these perspectives together while ensuring that young people's voices remain central?

Muchas gracias por.

Thank you very much for that question.

Key to be able to partnerships among different type of institutions, for example, but also between the private public sector with the academia. So to understand the voices and the needs and the aspirations of the youth in rural areas. But most importantly is to partner with the youth in the rural areas first so that we understand what what is the aspirations they have in the future and how can we address these needs through our projects and through our investments. And also to partner with other institutions in order to evaluate what is working and what is not working, to understand the lessons learned from different projects, such as what Franssen was mentioning before, what is it that is working, what is not working, and what can we learn from each other. And that's when partnerships become in order to implement interventions that are effective for the youth in rural areas.

We have another, do we have any more questions?

Yes, the one over here. I can reach you.

My question is for all of the panelists. I just wanted to ask, how can we measure the success of youth-led initiatives? despite or moving past just the quantitative number of investments made or activities that were hosted? How can we actually make sure that we are making an impact on the youth beyond the numbers?

Perhaps we could have some brief final remarks.

Well, I can tell you our perspective from Costa Rica, Latin America, how we keep these spaces going. Well, it's kind of the impact, the advocacy that we want to have. We want to be able to have this initiative of having an impact. Impact is really as important as alliances. It's often difficult to generate the concept of an alliance, but I think if you've got that initiative to be able to transform your relations over time, to be able to bring about real change, and to propose an answer, an option to something. That's the starting point, if you like, to have an impact. And I think the alliances that we forge and we keep going over time will also depend heavily on what we think and how we want to act and where we want to go with it. So I think it depends on that.

Continue with the youth perception with William.

Yes, I think to measure the impacts, we always talk about smart objectives, like you may have heard, like specific, measurable in the time and everything. for a specific initiative. But the discussion should not stop when the decision is made. I think we should go over the SMART initiative and just have something to review at the end, to come back to the table, to ask youth what was working, what's not working, what are the gaps that we haven't found the first time. So I think most important initiatives should be reviewed in collaboration with youth so we can have a better appreciation of the results and if it delivers what we thought at the first time that we wanted to solve.

Yeah, well, I think there's been some really good points. I think it's a longitudinal measurement. I mean, this is something that, you know, we're talking about changing systems and not just, you know, a single pebble in the ocean. It's a ripple effect that's gonna be measured over the long term. But I think changing the system is probably what I would look at first. You know, are we removing systemic barriers and closing gaps that are known and identified, you know, that I think would be kind of the first thing that I would look at.

Perfect. Thank you so much for the questions. And I do want to say that we're probably out of time for more questions, but we also had online participation. So thank you so much to our online participants for joining us and for participating today.

Thank you very much, Pamela. Thank you very much, panelists, for sharing your experiences and thoughts. And we'd like to invite you to take your seats in the audience so that we can continue the conversation together. Round of applause, please, for our.

Panelists.

Thank you so much to everybody for joining us this afternoon. We now move to a closing, uh, address and not just you here at the FAO in Rome, but also all of our audience online. as Alina has said, it's very important to be able to connect with audiences in the Americas and the rest of the world. In this session, we've heard various different experiences and perspectives, but we've also seen what brings us together, that solutions are here with us now. They are in our communities, they are in our organizations, and they are in the initiatives that young people are already driving forward.

- Can I have turned action already happening across the Americas into lasting change. That means ensuring young people have the partnerships, resources, and institutional support they need to sustain and scale their initiatives.

Yes, Siobhan.

So, after everything we've heard and shared in this afternoon's session of 90 minutes, I'd like us to imagine this question for a moment. What future can we build if, from today, we go for youth-led solutions?

To close, it is my pleasure to welcome Jocelyn Bihl, Director of the FAO North American and Latin Office. Jocelyn, welcome to the floor. It's yours.

Buenas tardes, good evening, and bonsoir for my French-speaking friends here. My name is Jocelyn Brown Hall. I'm the director of FAO's North America office covering the United States and Canada. Some of you may have seen me on stage before talking about United States and Canada having different agri-food systems from the rest of the world and certainly some very different agri-food systems from countries such as Haiti or Barbados or Paraguay or Argentina. So one of the things, one of the messages that I would like to convey to you is that agriculture has to be a big tent, right? Agriculture is local and global. And so as you go forward in your youth groups, I'm thinking about the question around how do you bring things from community to community, you have to maintain that community led group and that understanding of that my agriculture outside of Montreal might be very different from your agriculture in Brazil on a soybean farm, right? So you have to think inclusive and diverse. But I wanted to go back to the Mentimeter, which there were three things that came up from what you said were important. And in order of least priority to greatest priority of the top three priorities, you said partnerships. Partnerships to, I am assuming, to talk to each other, to have support, to have some mentoring. I see a lot of partnerships already in here. I see university professors who have taken time out to be here this week. I see government representatives, ministry representatives, FAO staff, and I see partnerships between you. So I think those partnerships are there. They're in maybe infancy stage, maybe youth stage, and they need to be grown up and mature. And that's really on you to continue on those partnerships, right? That's going to take time and resources to reach out and to make sure you maintain those connections. Of course, people such as myself and other university professors and government entities, FAO, can help you bring those along, but really those partnerships have to be, you have to commit to them, like any partnership. Second of all, I hear about voice. One thing I might say is no one is a mind reader. So if you don't actually verbalize your points, No one can hear them. I asked a question yesterday in a group and I just, people knew the answer and they didn't really want to say anything. You're going to make mistakes. You have to say your voice out loud. And there are people who will listen. Each of you have a voice in your communities. Each of you has a voice in your local governments. Each of you has a voice in your provinces or your states. And together you have a greater voice. So harness that power, right? Harness that and make sure that you're heard. And find that way, if you go down one route and your voice isn't heard, go down another route or keep knocking on that door. I have a senator, one of my senators from the state of Massachusetts, I am not his biggest fan. And do you know what? I keep sending him an e-mail every day about things I don't agree with with him. You can do the same thing. Finally, about finance and resources. I don't accept that there's not enough resources in agriculture. I don't accept that there's a future that doesn't have more resources in agriculture. Because think of how much agriculture and food consume our time and our head. I wake up this morning, I didn't get enough sleep last night, I need my coffee. I go for a run, I need my protein bar. I need to eat fruits and vegetables for a healthy body. I need my Diet Coke. Think of how much time food lives rent free in our head. And why is something that is so important to our daily life, why is that not better resourced? That's because there's a mismatch between what's something that is fundamental, the basics of human needs. needs to have also the resources to it. And if you look at any country with exception of a few, I'll shout out to Brazil and to China and to Israel, to Costa Rica, really agricultural resources have gone down in the several decades on a national level in terms of investments. Africa has a continental wide, the continent of Africa has a sort of an agreement to increase its resources by 10%. It's still struggling with fulfilling those resources. But most other countries, resources have been going down. That does not need to be. And that goes back to your voice. If it's so important, make it known. Tell your local community, you have someone representing you in your local community. Tell someone, that local community member, to go up one level. I care about agriculture, I care about food security, I care about food systems. I want there to be more funding. I think the most important thing that I can tell you is that you have agency and you can be empowered together with FAO, with local governments, with ministries, with universities. You do have agency. And I think this World Food Forum, I hope that this has given you a lot of energy to see that there are thousands of other youth who have the same energy as you that wants to create an agri-food systems, a sustainable, big tent, global and local, for a sustainable, nutritious society for all. Thank you.

Thank you very much for those inspiring words. So to close this session, we have a final message for you from local places, the voice of young people of America. Young.

People are not just students, we are partners of transformation, because we demand, we contribute innovation, education, commitment to promote una alimentación sostenible.

Verticulamos redes. Como jóvenes rurales, unimos tradiciones e innovación.

Aporte conocimientos e innovación tecnológica. Nuestro liderazgo es fundamental para garantizar el cierre de derechos estructurales.

Juventudes liderando la gobernanza desde hoy. We also hold leaders accountable and mobilize peers.

Veo un futuro con más educación alimentaria, producción de alimentos sostenibles.

Driving sustainable practices, creating smoother pathways for youth into the agri-food industry. Una agricultura.

Resilient, that protects water, soil, and biodiversity. Transforming climate adaptation into real action.

The best way to empower youth is to give us these opportunities.

Through innovation, collaboration, and action.

Future of Jamaica's food security will not be inherited by our youth but will be built by our youth.

Las juventudes somos los lideres del manana que transformaremos y promovemos acciones en la transicion agroalimentaria.

And with that, we close today's session. Please, scan the QR code, give your feedback on this event.

Muchas gracias a todos y todas por acompañarnos el día de hoy.

Thank you so much for joining us today. We hope to see you soon and we hope you have an excellent rest of the World Food Forum.