The YWG is a platform within the RUAF Global Partnership where young people collaborate to shape more sustainable and inclusive urban food systems. It fosters peer learning, youth leadership and climate-resilient solutions, and is supported by the Hivos-led Urban Futures programme.
Activities of the YWG
The YWG brings together youth (under 35) from the RUAF partners and Urban Futures partners to share experiences, analyze challenges and strengthen youth voices within urban food systems. Through regular discussions and thematic webinars, members exchange expertise, explore solutions and build relevant skills while helping develop ideas for joint initiatives across partner organizations. Topics are proposed by the convenors, but decisions are made democratically and shaped by participants’ interests.
2024 – Collective learning and peer support
- Webinar 1: Identified key challenges limiting youth participation in urban food systems, serving as a foundation for empowering youth in food systems governance.
- Webinar 2: Highlighted successful youth-led initiatives in policy-making, urban agriculture and access to financing, along with practical ways to scale them up.
2025 – Strengthening policy literacy and skills
- Webinar 3: Reflected on how the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Policy Recommendations on Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems translate into their different national and regional contexts.
- Webinar 4: Simulated a CFS Plenary on urban agriculture, giving members hands-on experience with policy dialogue and negotiation, with the participation of two representatives from the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSIPM).
All eligible participants receive a certificate of participation for each year they engage with the YWG. Additionally, RUAF is developing a system for career guidance and intergenerational dialogue to benefit participants who want to be more involved, including mentorship opportunities with more senior partners.
Governance of the YWG
The YWG was first formed with youth from RUAF partner organizations (e.g., Rikolto, Hivos, IWMI) and from Urban Futures partner organizations within the cities (e.g., KEHATIRISE Foundation, PAMPHLET Research Institute), with participants spanning Asia (e.g., Indonesia, Vietnam), Africa (e.g., Burkina Faso, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and Latin America (e.g., Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador).
Two young convenors with previous RUAF experience – Samuel Ikua and Manon Roux-Dessarps – guided the group’s early development and will continue to do so through 2026. As the YWG grows, its governance will evolve to include more diverse voices and shared leadership (criteria currently under development).
The YWG will also continue broadening its membership to include additional youth voices from RUAF partners’ allied projects, ensuring increasingly diverse geographical representation and strong roots across the RUAF network.