Indigenous Youth

Indigenous Youth are agents of change and young stewards for the present and future of Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems. They are the bridge between two worlds: bringing together Indigenous Peoples’ systems of knowledge with research, innovations, and technologies.

FAO values the critical leadership of Indigenous Youth and their contributions to innovations, food security, nutrition, climate and biodiversity action. Since 2017, FAO has been working closely with the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC), a working caucus in the United Nations system of Indigenous Youth leaders from all seven sociocultural regions.  Together, FAO and the GIYC, prioritize the concerns of Indigenous Youth and incorporate them in the organization’s work and increase the support for Indigenous Youth.

Two major highlights of FAO’s work with Indigenous Youth are:

• the “My Food Vision is...” campaign, launched in 2022 during the World Food Forum;
• the biennial UN Global Indigenous Youth Forum (UNGIYF), which in 2023 celebrated its II Session bringing together 186 Indigenous Youth from the seven socio-cultural regions of the world.