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 moral support.
This is the reason why when we see opportunities for young peoples ideas to be supported, we jump on them. The 2017 Young Africa Works Summit presented one such opportunity. Fifty youth delegates from across Africa traveled to Kigali in February and over three days they presented their ideas, asked questions and met people who could support them. But could these ideas, questions and connections have a ripple effect beyond the Summit?
To test that assumption, we asked youth delegates to form groups based on the countries they are currently living in, and submit ideas to YPARD about how they could support each other to amplify opportunities and impact in their own work and for YPARD members in their countries.
From training Tanzanian farmers to use sustainable farming to urban farm business development in Uganda, the ideas submitted by youth delegates are amazing and with the support of the MasterCard Foundation, we have provided seed funding to each group of youth delegates to implement these ideas.
Here are the activities the delegates are undertaking this year 2017. We look forward to sharing their learnings with you in a few months!
Youth delegates in Ghana will present to students of the Kwadaso and Ejura agricultural colleges about the benefits of a career in agriculture, tour Ghanas best agribusiness enterprises and receive project management training. Contact Emmanuel to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
From September, youth delegates in Nigeria are organising seminars for secondary school students in government owned schools in Abuja and Nassarawa to sensitize and orient the students about the potentials in agriculture. They hope to set up vegetable plots at every secondary school to teach the students favorable and best agronomical practices. Contact Olawale to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth delegates in Rwanda are working with 30 smallholder farmers in Kirehe and Muhanga districts to put together the best farming practices training manual that help increase the quality and quantity of banana and sweet potato crops. Contact Pacifique to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth delegates in Malawi are tackling gender disparities in education by running career guidance and vision setting workshops for girls in rural primary and secondary schools. Contact Pilirani to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth delegates in Uganda are starting their own urban vegetable farming cooperative. They aim to promote skills building as well as attracting young people to agriculture as a profession. Contact Francis to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth delegates in Kenya are visiting farms to acquire hands on farming technical skills required in agriculture and will pass on that knowledge to the other youths in their counties. Contact Emmanuel to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth delegates in Costa Rica are planning an exchange program where university scholars, YPARD members and UN representatives will be able to share experiences, have an opportunity to pitch for startup capital and be mentored by a community of professionally-diverse and experienced mentors. Contact Annet to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth delegates in Tanzania have convened a five day training in regenerative agriculture, entrepreneurship and business development at Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania Farmer Training Centre in Morogoro. Contact Janet to find out more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Photo credit: The MasterCard Foundation