Grounding Food Systems in Youth Power: Reflections on UNFSS+4

As the UN Food Systems Summit +4 (UNFSS+4) approaches, youth and civil society organizations are raising strong concerns about how inclusive and accountable the process has been. The UN Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), representing diverse youth constituencies including the SENA Youth Group, has highlighted recurring issues of late, selective, and tokenistic outreach.

According to MGCY, youth voices are being sidelined through:

• Invitations that arrive too late to meaningfully shape agendas.
• Consultations designed and led by the UN Coordination Hub, with individuals hand-picked rather than representatives of youth constituencies.
• Lack of transparency and clarity around how input is used.
• “Symbolic” youth participation that does not translate into real decision-making power.

These concerns mirror broader civil society critiques voiced by the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSIPM), echoing patterns first seen in the 2021 Summit: weak accountability, opaque governance, and a tilt toward institutional and corporate interests.

YPARD’s Perspective

YPARD shares these concerns and emphasizes the need for youth-led, rights-based engagement at UNFSS+4. Our position is grounded in structured, constituency-based advocacy, where youth themselves shape agendas and outputs. We believe that real youth participation means:

• Co-creation, not consultation theater engaging youth constituencies from the start.
• Transparency clear selection processes, decision timelines, and open drafts.
• Accountability a traceable route from recommendations into intergovernmental or CFS processes.
• Conflict of interest safeguards avoiding undue influence by commercial actors.

At UNFSS+4, YPARD has so far participated in one substantive side event on soil health: “Grounding Food Systems Transformation in Soil Health: Evidence and Cross-Sectoral Action.” This session, co-organized with partners including CIFOR-ICRAF, FAO, IUCN, WBCSD, and Uganda’s National Planning Authority, offered a meaningful entry point for youth. Discussions linked soil health to youth livelihoods, agroecology, and climate resilience — and included explicit questions about youth access to finance, jobs, and enabling policies.

This experience demonstrated that when youth are given defined roles, real ownership of outputs, and clear follow-up pathways, engagement can move beyond tokenism to genuine influence.

Path Forward

YPARD stands ready to contribute a robust youth-led agenda focused on:

• Dedicated youth-friendly finance  grants, low-interest instruments, and de-risking tools accessible to youth cooperatives and producer groups.
• Agroecology and climate resilience at scale investments in extension, research, and training for youth-led systems.
• Just transitions and dignified livelihoods  policies that keep rural youth engaged in agriculture through opportunities, mobility, and fairness.

We call on UNFSS+4 organizers to:

• Engage youth constituencies directly, not just individuals.
• Open structured, transparent consultation channels.
• Anchor outcomes in democratic spaces like the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), where accountability mechanisms already exist.

UNFSS+4 has the potential to be a turning point for youth and civil society in food systems governance  but only if the process shifts from symbolism to co-ownership. Dialogue must lead to delivery: finance, policies, and measurable opportunities for young people on the ground.

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