Mainstreaming youth at the GCARD3 Global Event

The GCARD3 Global event is pioneering a stronger involvement of the youth in global agricultural discussions by giving them leading roles in the core conference. Young people will be able to bring youth perspectives to the forefront as plenary speakers, catalysts, and as GCARD partner on behalf of YPARD: young professionals for agricultural development. Meet them:

Youth at the Partner Assembly

Seven YPARD delegates were invited to take part into the Partner Assembly, together with YPARD Director, Courtney Paisley. Their role as youth representatives will particularly be to voice youth issues, aspirations, needs and the opportunities they see for themselves, and to express how they think GFAR’s partners can work together to address these. The delegates represent the views from different regions of the world:

• Rahel Wyss, YPARD Switzerland representative
• Libuse Valesová, YPARD Europe coordinator
• Sokhna Rokhaya Gaye, YPARD Senegal representative
• Daniela Rivas, YPARD Peru co-lead
• Assem Abou Hatab, YPARD Egypt representative
• Jim Cano, YPARD Philippines and YPARD Asia Working Group representative
• Zeinab Al Moumani, member of Women Farmers Network and YPARD Jordan

Starring four youth plenary speakers

Four young professionals will take the stage as key speakers. They will provide hints on some hot aspects of innovation in agricultural development:

• “Beekeeping as an emerging business in Botswana: and the role of bees in agriculture”, Tshepiso Marumo, YPARD member
• “Experience as a young, emerging, black, female farmer in the transforming agricultural economy in South Africa”, Dimakatso Sekhoto (Nono), Makolobane Farmers Enterprises
• “Innovation in a Sustainable Manner: Young Agripreneurs and Reinventing Farming for Europe”, Maria Letizia Gardoni, Coldiretti
• “Strategic inclusion of youth in national, regional and global agricultural systems”, Jim Cano, YPARD

Boosting discussions on youth empowerment with youth catalysts

Youth representation will also be strong in the different thematic sessions. Young people were invited to take part as catalysts. This means that they will not only provide insights in a 10 min presentation but also help to facilitate round tables discussions afterwards.

• An African Agrarian philosophy and the Sustainable Development Goals - Raymond Erick Zvavanyange, YPARD Zimbabwe
• No one left behind: Youth planning rural futures –Jim Cano, YPARD Philippines
• 10 years of YPARD: What impact can we measure from an agricultural youth network? – Marina Cherbonnier, YPARD
• Combining PhD Excellence, Multidisciplinary and Relevance to Development: Lessons from AgTraIn’s Experience - Lana Repar, Student AgTraIn

Youth involvement doesn’t start at the Global Event: YPARD had an active role in the organization of the GCARD3 itself, with members as co-chair of the themes, as part of the Task Forces and by bringing young people through the consultation process on national, regional and global level.

Also, discover or rediscover YAP - Young Agripreneurs project's selected fellows who will be given the floor in the closing ceremony and YPARD Social reporters.

This is the first time so many YPARD members have a central role in a conference. GCARD1 had a significant youth presence through its youth side-event; GCARD2, beyond its youth session and youth event, brought an impactful youth contribution through it social reporting team which still counts an army of more than 250 active members who started their own initiatives.

Hundreds of young people are registered to attend the GCARD3 Global Event, with forty of them having active roles throughout the conference through these leading roles above, as reporters, rapporteurs and active discussants. GCARD3 Global event is nailing it with giving the central stage to young people, which sends the strong message that youth is indeed fully part of the process.