Where else is the role of youth crucial?

“Youth have passion, motivation and creativity, we just need an opportunity”

-Jim Cano, one of the youth representatives at the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD3)

Jim has conquered lots of senior professionals’ hearts. His inspiring speech has shown the potential that many youths have left untapped.

And indeed, the representation and participation of youth have been growing significantly in international conferences and dialogues.

Take as an example the GCARD3 Global event: youth represents about 140 participants out of 512. Besides that, youth have also been participating in the national and regional consultations, receiving capacity building through the Social Media Bootcamps (from 27 media reporters at the GCARD2 to 70 at the GCARD3) and even taking part in the plenary discussion as panel speakers and catalysts. The importance of mentorship has also been taken into account under the Youth Agripreneurs Project.

This is all very exciting, but where else is the role of youth crucial? What about at the political level? Youth don’t have the chance to participate in political discussions and political representatives do not always have a real understanding of all the obstacles we face. As a result, the decisions made seem to be a quite disconnected from our real world.

“The youth perspective is necessary and not only an accessory. Young people should be involved in decision-making and policy-making”

-Jim Cano

Blogpost by Giovanna Michelotto, #GCARD3 Social Reporter – giovanna.mp(at)gmail.com
Photo credits: top – Giovanna Michelotto; bottom – IISD

This post is part of the live coverage during the #GCARD3 Global Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, 5-8 April 2016. This post is written by one of our social reporters, and represents the author’s views only.