World Food Forum: Regional youth consultation “Who will stay then?”

12:00 – 13:30 CEST

FAO launched a series of youth consultations in December 2021, which also contributes to the regional aspirations of the World Food Forum. The first consultation was an overview session on the challenges and opportunities for rural youth. This event entitled “Who will stay then? How digitalization can bring youth back to agriculture in Europe and Central Asia” is part of the series focusing on digitalization in agriculture.

The objective of the youth consultation is to provide a platform for young farmers, entrepreneurs, technology companies and academia to share their success stories, experiences, approaches, and key challenges related to the application of digital technologies in agriculture. The event will advocate further for youth’s digital innovation, foster and strengthen the dialogues between relevant actors, and support to make voices and concerns heard and considered of the youth. As a result of engaging young speakers, the event is expected to challenge the widespread knowledge about employment in agriculture and the role of digital technologies in stimulating it.

Topics to be discussed:

• Farmers and farmers’ representatives on youth’s view on agricultural work and the role of digital technologies in everyday life;
• Young digital innovators and their journeys;
• Representative from academia on digital agriculture in educational programmes.

The event will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation in Russian.