Rome - On Monday morning 186 Indigenous Youth arrived at FAO headquarters in Rome. They gathered around a sacred fire lit in the middle of the Nomad Indigenous FoodLab, a group of Sámi People’s nomadic tents that travelled all the way from Norway to Italy. Pacha K’anchay, a spiritual guide from Colombia, and Atama Katama, advisor of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, led an emotional and immersive moment of prayer: it marked the beginning of the II Session of the United Nations Global Indigenous Youth Forum (UNGIYF).

UNGIYF’s history

The second session of the UNGIYF stems from a long path of collaboration between FAO and Indigenous Youth. This started from the release of a report on the alarming reality of self-inflicted harm and suicide rates amongst Indigenous Youth. The report had been issued by the UNPFII in 2016. A year later, in 2017, FAO organised a meeting between the GIYC (Global Indigenous Youth Caucus) and FAO Senior management, to listen to the Youth’s concerns and to understand how the organisation could support them. This meeting resulted in the 2017 Rome Declaration on Indigenous Youth. In 2018, following this work, UNDESA/UNPFII issued a recommendation to FAO a recommendation to organise a Forum in the UN dedicated to Indigenous Youth: the UNGIYF.

The first session of the UNGIYF was held online in 2021, due to COVID 19 pandemic restrictions. It saw the participation of 136 Indigenous Youth and resulted in the 2021 Indigenous Youth Global Declaration on Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems.

This is the first in-person gathering of the UNGIYF. For many of the Youth, this is also the first time they are travelling outside their countries and/or communities. It is a unique opportunity for them to engage with fellow Indigenous Youth from all the seven socio-cultural regions of the world, to share their concerns and find common strategies. Although many of the Youth are active members of the GIYC, not all of them are part of this organization.

The 2023 UNGIYF is co-organized by the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC), the Association of World Reindeer Herders and the Nomad Indigenous FoodLab. It is supported by DOCIP and hosted by FAO.

The numbers of the 2023 UNGIYF

• 481 Indigenous Youth applied to participate to the UNGIYF
• 186 Indigenous Youth were selected to join the UNGIYF in person
• They belong to 97 Indigenous Peoples’ groups
• They speak 93 different languages
• They travelled from 54 countries from all the seven socio-cultural regions of the world
• 14 Indigenous Chefs will cook for the participants
• 4 Indigenous musicians will perform live

Zooming-in on the 2023 UNGIYF

From the morning of the 16^th of October until next Friday (20^th of October) Indigenous Youth will gather every day to discuss about the future of their food and knowledge systems. The focus of the 2023’s session of this biennial Forum is on Climate and Biodiversity action.

The main topics of the 2023 UNGIYF are: Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems, climate and biodiversity action, the impacts of ultra-processed foods and of pesticides on Indigenous Peoples’ health, the protection of Indigenous Poeples’ plant genetic resources, and Indigenous-led education.

On their first day, the Youth held a full day of closed doors conversations, essential to get to know each other, familiarize with the space, to hold discussion between regional groups and to organize for the dense week ahead of them. Indeed, in the following days they will be meeting FAO Member States, UN agencies, academic institutions, research centres and other stakeholders.

They will also hold dedicated sessions with the World Food Forum, FAO Science and Innovation Forum, FAO Hand in Hand Investment Forum, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the Global Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems, the Rome Group of Friends of Indigenous Peoples and the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems. Besides the discussions, the UNGIYF features performances, music and, of course, delicious food cooked by world class Indigenous Chefs.

Furthermore, the UNGIYF is featuring an exhibition and a NO-honey bar. The first one, hosted by seven small Saami nomadic tents, is aimed to raise awareness about Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems and the challenges they are facing. During the week, the exhibition will host several schools and guided visits will be offered to the students. The No-honey bar, instead, is an initiative to raise awareness on the Indigenous Peoples’ food that are often excluded by the markets: in this case, honey. The bar displays samples of several kinds of honey produced by non-apis mellifera bees, most of them provided by Keystone Foundation (India). Indigenous Peoples’ foods are diverse and nutritious, but the markets tend to overlook them and prefer standardization.

Over the course of the following week, Indigenous Youth will also be working on a Declaration aimed to deliver clear messages on the policies and actions that must be taken to preserve Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems for the seven future generations. The Declaration will build upon the My Food Vision Is… campaign, launched in 2022 to raise awareness on the challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples food and knowledge systems and on the sustainable solutions they can provide.

The Choctaw and Irish gift

On Monday the UNGIYF has also received several important visits.

H.E. Patricia O Brien, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ireland to the FAO, and Dr. Padraig Kirwan, author of the book “Famine Pots” joined Indigenous Youth to commemorate the Irish and Choctaw Famine Gift. The commemoration recalls an event that happened in 1847. In that year Ireland was facing a serious famine. At the same time, Choctaw people in North America were being forcibly displaced from their land, walking on what is now called the “trail of tears”. When the Choctaw learned about the Irish famine, even if they were facing difficulties themselves, they decided to send a donation to the Irish people to buy food and fodder for livestock. Since then, the Choctaw and the Irish have been united by a strong bond.

During the whole week of the UNGIYF, the Indigenous chefs participating to the Forum will serve 300 bowls of soup to Member States’ delegates and other non-Indigenous persons to commemorate this act of solidarity and to convey the message that Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems are fundamental to sustainably feed the world.

Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems are based on solidarity and reciprocity. Hunger is considered a systemic failure.

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#MyFoodVisionIs