Investing in Youth and Women for Food Systems Transformation: Inclusion and Targeted Finance
Youth and women are powerful agents of food systems transformation and achieving climate mitigation and adaptation. At this collaborative side event at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiary Bodies (SB) 58, YPARD, YOUNGO, World Food Forum, the International Association of Agriculture and related sciences Students (IAAS), the Bon Ki-Moon Center for Global Citizens, the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA), EIT Food, World Farmers Organization, and Wageningen University and Research are partnering for a youth and women-focused side event. Here we'll ask the tough question: are we investing in the work of youth and women effectively?
Date: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Time: 10:15 - 11:30 GMT +2
Background
As efforts to tackle the climate crisis gain more attention, women and youth-led initiatives play an important role in climate adaptation. While global institutions, organizations and governments have promised to increase funds to support women and youth-led projects in agriculture, these financial instruments can become difficult to access or can be unsustainable in the long-term. This event aims to highlight the role of women and youth in climate adaptation, which are critical to achieving food security, biodiversity, reducing poverty and inequalities. Moreover, targeted finance and tailored policies to accelerate climate action will be discussed.
Contribution to the SB58 Agenda
Women and youth play a critical role in climate change adaptation since they have the capacity to pass on knowledge and practical solutions to the next generation and develop new innovative solutions to climate change-related problems; as a demographic, youth are generally open to change and new methods of doing things, which is a benefit when aiming to transform food systems. Benefits of women and youth-led agricultural adaptation regard - and are not limited to - increased food security, education, and sanitation. This side event thereby discusses sustainable finance of women and youth-led projects and therefore can be regarded as a win-win for PPIs and project leading youth.
Expected Outcomes
Commit to action
Discuss how young people and women in low resource settings have committed to contribute to adaptation and mitigation of the climate crisis by implementing innovative agrifood projects.
Encourage stakeholders to concretely support youth projects on the ground to launch, scale, and have an impact (whether the intention is for ROI or not).
Sustain and scale up implementation
Connect donors to youth organizations that support on-the-ground action in order to help scale up initiatives and increase adoption of youth-led agrifood innovation;
Discussion on the resources that already exist for youth and women to access funds; highlighting grants as a financial instrument that needs to be expanded.
Follow-up and review processes
Prepare a follow-up brief on the outcomes of the event and the discussion portion. Follow up with the attendees of the event by providing a list of youth organizations’ ongoing programs that welcome financial support.
Event Overview
Introduction to event, goals and objectives and Remarks on the YOUNGO SB58 Submission
Introduction: Ms. Glindys Virginia Luciano, YPARD and Ms. Aya Mounir, IAAS & YOUNGO
Panel Discussion
Youth representative: Mr. Vikrant Srivastava, Nisarg Foundation and Fridays for Future India
Womens' representative: Ms. Loureen Akinyi Awuor, Kenya National Farmers’ Federation
Donor organizations representative: Ms. Annira Busch, Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)