FAO keynote address at Model United Nations event - 'The Future We Want: A Global Initiative for Young Leaders’

‘The Future We Want: A Global Initiative for Young Leaders’
Hosted by the Italian Diplomatic Academy

FAO Statement by QU Guangzhou
Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York

As delivered
 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a privilege to be with you here today, and to see so many young leaders who committed to making the world a better place for all.

On behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, I wish to thank the Italian Diplomatic Academy for this invitation.

Today I find myself as the only representative of the specialized agencies of the UN system. I would like to share some thoughts and practices on how to empower youth, from the perspective of FAO.

Our world finds itself at the juncture of increasingly complex challenges.

They are multi-faceted in nature and call for multidimensional solutions, with different voices, perspectives and ideas coming together for a larger common good.

The ripple effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, biodiversity loss and conflict are eroding progress in poverty reduction and food security, and accentuating inequalities.

We need to recover lost ground in the 2030 Agenda, and achieve the SDGs, in particular those related to Zero Hunger, poverty and inequality, all of which are critical and at the heart of FAO’s mandate.

But how can we achieve those ambitious goals?

FAO’s answer is to transform our agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, with a focus on promoting better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one.

This is only possible when all stakeholders work together. Youth, as the leaders of today and tomorrow, are essential partners. 

We need your voice, ideas, passion and action. These joint efforts are the essence of multilateralism.

At FAO, we strongly believe that young people represent a significant untapped potential for innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership in the agrifood sector and in many others.

However, at the country level, young people still face several barriers, such as limited access to land, resources, education, finance, and technologies.

To address these challenges, FAO provides support to countries to develop more youth-inclusive policies, strategies, investments and programmes, to enhance the overall well-being of young women and men.

I would like to share some recent FAO milestones to this end.

In 2019, the FAO Director-General established the Organization's first-ever Youth Committee, which was established to leverage the potential of young employees to foster a more creative, innovative workforce, and also to support Members in policy areas that encourage youth employment and leadership, particularly in rural areas.

And, of course, the World Food Forum, a recent crowning achievement of FAO.

The Forum is a youth-led movement and network launched in 2021. Its mission is to transform our agrifood systems and support youth from across the world to act on their innovative ideas and drive for transformative change.

The World Food Forum has become the world’s most influential and dynamic platform for science, innovation, policy dialogue, as well as investment and financing mobilization in agrifood systems. We warmly invite you to join this forum in the future.

Platforms like today’s event are crucial for your engagement in policy making and enriching the ongoing discussions where your voices are urgently needed.

We hope that today’s event and your participation in Model United Nations might inspire you to champion the 2030 Agenda, and a world free from hunger, in whatever career path you choose to pursue.

And that, perhaps, some of you will choose join the United Nations or FAO, and that, next time, we meet you as colleagues. 

Thank you.