YPARD is delighted to welcome Sebastian Pedraza Paez as the new steering committee chair.
Sebastian is a Colombian youth leader who has important experience in rural youth issues. is a graduate with Associate Degree in ICT from SENA, is currently finishing an Associate Degree in Music Production from Latin American professional audio foundation Cetear, and Bachelors Degree in Political science and public management from the International University of La Rioja, He has also carried out several studies in the development of projects and public policies.
Sebastian currently works in Apoyar Foundation in Colombia, where he is an advisor in the management and formulation of projects. was one of the co-founders, board member and communications leader of the national rural youth network in Colombia.
For more than 8 years he has participated in the formulation and implementation of different projects that contribute to social and rural development in different parts of Colombia and in some countries in Latin America.
One of these initiatives is the National Rural Youth Network of Colombia, an initiative that seeks to empower rural youth, through training processes, facilitating access to opportunities, initiating the creation of public policies, so that these generate initiatives, that allow them to remain in the rural areas, and generate development in their territories. Furthermore, within the network, with Asoje and the Ministry of Agriculture, he has participated in the design of training processes and empowerment of rural youth.
Sebastian personally had the opportunity to participate in the creation, strengthening and consolidation of the network, besides contributing to the replication of similar initiatives with youth leaders from Peru, El Salvador and currently in Mexico, he has also collaborated and participated in different international conferences with institutions such as IFAD, FAO, Procasur, and Rimisp.
He is also part of the executive board of a network of Iberoamerican leaders called Jovenes Iberoamericanos, which seeks the empowerment and influence of young people in the formulation of public policies. He is also part of the Latin American Network of Rural Extension Services-RELASER, where he represents youth. Sebastian also collaborates with other international youth-led projects and organizations such as Virufy and One Young World.
Sebastian has been a member of YPARD for over a year and a half, where in addition to being an active member of the Steering Committee he has also taken on the role of coordinating the YPARD Latin America and Caribbean regional unit.
We live in a crucial moment, where it is necessary to transform the way we are living, the way we are doing agriculture, the decisions and actions we take now will affect our future, YPARD has the mission to empower new generations of young professionals that generate changes, that transform rural areas through innovation, and clean agriculture, and have an impact on their territories".
YPARD brings together the best of the best, the knowledge of different disciplines in the service of rural development and vulnerable communities. As a new Chair, I hope to work as a team with my colleagues from Steering Committee, to maximize their talent and experience in the service of the network, so that more and more young people are empowered and become generators of change in their territories. I am honoured and challenged to work to ensure that the YPARD family continues to grow, improve and increase its impact in rural communities.
Welcome on-board Sebastian Pedraza Paez!
For any strategic discussions, you can contact the steering committee (SC) chair and other SC members via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.