Children and youthThe world's population is young, with nearly 2.2 billion people under the age of 18 of which 85 percent are living in developing countries. Children and young people are concerned, thoughtful citizens, capable of participating in, and changing the society of which they are a part; and they have an important role to play in addressing and affecting the issues of our world. In addition, children and young people have enthusiasm, imagination and abundant energy to undertake local actions, act as effective communicators in their communities and be involved in international arenas. FAO with a number of partners is therefore developing resources, activities and the mechanisms to enhance awareness, access to information and participation of children and young people in a range of environmental, social and sustainable development issues, including climate change. | 
Photo by mic wernej under a Creative Commons License |
News  26 April 2011 The World Leadership Conference 2011 is a unique 5-day preparatory conference which aims to re-kindle the “spirit of Rio” by enabling the younger generations of today with the skills, knowledge and inspiration required to be effective leaders in creating change, especially towards climate change and sustainable development. Participants are treated with an opportunity to meet like-minded peers from around Asia-Pacific, to forge and establish lasting relationships in the region for stronger and more impactful change. One of the key intent of the conference is to connect the achievements of past and present leaders with the younger generations to continue the work of environmental stewardship towards a more sustained future. The World Leadership Conference 2011 reflects the highest ideals of Environmental Challenge Organisation (ECO) Singapore in bringing together motivated and proactive individuals from the Asia-Pacific to focus on pertinent issues surrounding climate change and to develop leadership qualities which would best prepare participants for Rio+20. [ more...] | 31 March 2011 UNEP, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the Ecological Society for Eastern Africa, the Sahara and Sahel Observatory and others have partnered to organize "African Climate Teach-in Day," a day devoted to lectures and lessons around the issue of climate change in Africa, to be held in universities and secondary schools across the continent. [ more...] |  16 March 2011 Did you know that we are in the International Year of Youth? We are, since 12 August 2010. This issue of Farming Matters shows that young people are, and have, the future in agriculture worldwide. It considers the roles, priorities and responsibilities of young generations. Read how they can contribute to the improvement of sustainable small-scale agriculture. [ more...] |  14 February 2011 The International Drawing Competition is held as a part of a youth education initiative intended to enhance awareness on the importance of forests among children and young people and to provide them with knowledge that can help them to become active agents of change in our society. Relevant information about the challenges that our environment is facing today is an essential tool for enabling children and young people to take responsible action in their communities and, therefore, strengthen their participation in the protection, preservation and improvement of our natural resources. The project is developing a series of educational materials and activities for children and young people, teachers and youth leaders. The Drawing Competition linked to the 2011 International Year of Forest and has the objective to allow children and youth to explore through their drawings why forests are important to our world. The drawings submitted will be used in logos, publications, T shirts and activity badges. [ more...] | 10 January 2011 The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in close collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), supports the International Movement of Catholic Agricultural Rural Youth (MIJARC) in a project aiming to map out organizations representing young farmers - consisting of food producers in agriculture, livestock, fishing and forestry sectors – in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The mapping will followed by a survey on best practices and lessons learnt on supporting young people’s sustainable entry to agricultural activities. The project aims at increasing farmers’ organizations’ knowledge of the specific challenges facing young women and men in agriculture, and of successful policies and programs to address these challenges. The understanding will be translated into proposals/recommendations to governments and development partners and will be discussed in three regional workshops and finally fed in the discussion of a specific event on rural youth in the context of the Global Meeting of the Farmers’ Forum at IFAD in February 2012. [ more...] | |
