Four years ago, we coordinated our first mentoring program. We were working on the youth engagement component of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) taking place in Lima, Peru, focused on building the skills and knowledge of the many students and young professionals who were there to engage in these high-level science-policy discussions. For many of these youth, the GLF was their... More

When: Saturday August 26th 2017 – at 15:00 Rome time (Use this tool helps you convert “Rome time” to your timezone) Duration: 90 minutes Young people around the world have innovative ideas for sustainable agricultural development but often struggle to access resources – lacking collateral, capital and connections. Our speakers who are currently involved in the Young Africa Works mentoring program ( a product of the... More

Cluster Coaching is a follow on activity from the Young Africa Works Summit supported by the MasterCard Foundation. At YPARD, we strongly believe that empowering young people is best achieved by supporting youth to be the masters of their own destiny. Our members have so many fantastic ideas but face many struggles in implementing them due to lack of financial and... More

*UPDATE: Application deadline extended to 25 August!*Want to do Work That Matters?YPARD is the largest and most diverse network of young people in agricultural sectors.  From farmers to scientists to entrepreneurs, our members connect across disciplines, countries and regions. These youth are the future of agriculture. Our mission is to serve as a global collective platform through which young professionals can realise their... More

What happens when you take 150 people and ask them to design a session together? Some might say chaos, others might say equitable participation. At the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, we subscribe to the school of the latter – no matter how much trickier diversity may make processes, it is important. So when it came to running our fourth youth session at the Global... More

UPDATE: Please read the mentoring evaluation report at: http://www.ypard.net/resources/equipping-young-people-make-change-agriculture John Dewey once said: "We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience." The YPARD members who have been actively involved in piloting a number of mentoring programs over the past 12 months have now entered a period of reflection - on their achievements, challenges and lessons learned. In the spirit of collective... More

Never doubt the power of the right question asked at the right moment. “Who is YPARD Kenya?” asked Monica Kapiriri, a trainer with the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). The question put a pause on the conversation immediately. Here we were, the mentors and mentees, gathered in Naivasha, Kenya as part of the closing workshop of YPARD’s face-to-face... More

by Jolan van Herwaarden               Update, 5 Nov. 2015: The webinar about the principles of fundraising is now closed. Watch the recorded webinar. Learn more about Jolan, our Expert Guest from The Resource Alliance, below. Money makes the world go round, right? Well, maybe that is not entirely true (I personally think it is Empathy but let’s not... More

It's been two months since Noah M. M. Nasiali and Julius Makanga embarked in their YPARD mentor/mentee relationship. Learning from each other doesn't only imply long discussions - it means observing, testing and experiencing together.Noah invited Julius to his business - Nasco Farm Fresh - for their first "one on one" meeting - a crucial milestone in YPARD mentoring program. This... More

YPARD's pilot mentoring program will kick off in just under a month in Nairobi, Kenya.  We received some great applications - here's a breakdown in a lovely infographic. Stay tuned at www.ypard.net/mentoring as we'll be announcing the names of our pilot participants very soon!  

Photo by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR   So you’re thinking of applying for the YPARD mentoring program? Here are some tips to help you with your application.  Read the question It’s surprising how many people give irrelevant answers to questions. If for example we ask you to describe someone who has been important in your life, this is not the time to tell... More

Otim Joseph was just two years old when the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency began to decimate the forests and farms of Uganda. Once the war subsided, in 2005-6, the battle against the effects of climate change -- poor harvests and erratic rainfall -- contributed to a general sense of hopelessness in his community. Meanwhile, in 2006, unbeknownst to him, Uganda-based... More