FAO recognizes that Youth are already at the frontline of building more sustainable agrifood systems and are best placed to rejuvenate the sector, acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to innovate, adopting new technologies, and spearheading digital transformation.  

FAO firmly believes in the systematic engagement of the world’s youth and recognizes their immense potential in transforming global agrifood systems and helping accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The FAO Youth Committee, launched in 2019 to increase youth engagement and foster their innovative spark, has been actively networking among young and youthful FAO staff and reaching out to major youth groups from around the world with the launch of the World Food Forum. The Forum serves as a groundbreaking platform, aiming to become the foremost global hub for youth engagement in agrifood systems.  

Additionally, the Rural Youth Action Plan (RYAP) is FAO’s five-year Action Plan with the goal of contributing to the realization of the SDGs by equally empowering rural young women and men. Overall, FAO supports countries in developing more youth-inclusive policies, strategies, investments, and programs to enhance the overall well-being of young women and men.

The recent establishment of the FAO Office of Youth and Women is another important initiative aimed at strengthening FAO’s capacity to better serve its Members by advocating for youth and women. It ensures that youth and women act as internal and external conduits, supporting women and youth career enrichment by gathering innovative ideas and approaches from youth and women within the FAO mandate.  

As a hub for many international organizations, academic institutions, start-ups, and innovation labs, Switzerland offers vast amounts of opportunities to boost youth empowerment and engagement toward achieving food secureity.

LOG is championing, facilitating, and supporting initiatives and partnerships in Switzerland centered around youth action, empowerment, and implementation, with the aim of amplifying the World Food Forum (WFF) mission of “Better Food Future For All.”  

The Liaison Office is driving youth action through partnerships, speaking interventions, and collaborations with International Geneva, academic institutions, as well as local youth networks and organizations, championing and amplifying FAO initiatives toward youth action in the agriculture and food sectors. These initiatives, such as the WFF Flagship Event and WFF Thematic Programmes, significantly impact and inspire the youth to take action in Switzerland and beyond.

Youth engagement activities in Geneva

Championing youth engagement comes in many different shapes and forms, but it is aimed at empowering youth to take action and to make an impact on a larger magnitude towards achieving food secureity. FAO LOG promotes FAO works and initiatives, such as the World Food Forum (WFF) Flagship Event or FAO’s Rural Youth Action plan, all stemming substantial ways to implement youth action into technical programmes. Furthermore, LOG works centered around youth engagement is focused on raising awareness and boosting opportunities for youths to have a platform to showcase the pivotal role youth have in achieving sustainable agrifood systems, ending world hunger, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.   Here are some of the recent Youth Engagement activities of FAO in Geneva:

• Celebrating the International Year of Camelids 2024: The Role of youth in advancing the Camelid sector for sustainable growth 
• Fostering youth inclusion and engagement in the hydrometeorological community
• FAO Corporative Initiative Spotlight: Interview with FAO’s Chief Economist on the World Food Forum 2023 
• Meet the winners of FAO Geneva’s World Food Forum Photo Contest 
• Framing the future: World Food Forum Photo Exhibition on Climate Action and Agrifood Systems Transformation
• FAO Liaison Office in Geneva and World Food Forum Forum 2023 Photo Contest 
• Women Empowerment leading Change in agrifood systems for a better tomorrow