#Y4AGRI is the banner youth engagement initiative of SEARCA. Guided by the principle of "by the youth, for the youth, and with the once youth," the program aims to nurture young people as partners and leaders for agricultural innovation.
Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy or "Pistang PagKaPinoy" is a virtual festival by youth, for YOUth, and with the once youth to bring the spirit of fiesta and serve platters of knowledge to Filipino homes even in the middle of a pandemic when people's mobility is restricted. In relation to the World Food Day, Pistang PagKaPinoy will tackle innovations, concepts, and stories relating to food and its intersections with business, nutrition, arts, gender, culture, and tourism. Both young ones and once young who are experts and advocates in these fields will facilitate engaging talks, games, and learning sessions to raise awareness and appreciation of food.
Amidst the pandemic, SEARCA aims to continue to be relevant in ensuring food and nutrition security in countries and communities in Southeast Asia. With youth engagement in agriculture as among its priority areas for the 11th Five-Year Plan, SEARCA is committed to provide platforms for young people on their issues and solutions in agricultural and rural development (ARD), particularly in this time of unprecedented global health crisis. SEARCA's Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI) is an initiative to engage and empower the youth in ARD. Among the objectives of #Y4AGRI is to elevate the interest of young people in venturing into and pursuing careers in agriculture and allied fields. In line with this objective and in time for the celebration of the International Youth Day on 12 August, #Y4AGRI is launching the Youth COVIDeo Contest to put the spotlight to the Southeast Asian youth in showcasing their local food production practices combined with their creativity to tell their stories in a video format.
Content | 40% |
Creativity | 40% |
Video quality | 20% |
TOTAL | 100% |
The Virtual Youth Camp (VYC) camp is designed to enable youth perspectives on challenges and solutions in the agri-food system amidst and post-pandemic. On the first VYC, there were 21 Filipino youth representatives from the academe, business, civil society, and government sectors who shared insights on navigating the agri-food system and engaging the youth on it.
A campfire session featured two UN Food Systems Champions to talk about their narratives in agriculture and the role of young people in transforming the food systems.
#Y4AGRI aims to work for and work with out-of-school and in-school youth from school children and high school students to university students and young professionals (kiddies to yuppies).
The program's strategies and activities revolve around four pillars:
Develop platforms promoting a transformative mindset in agriculture, particularly among children and youth in farming families and communities.
Improve youth access to information, technologies, and skills enhancement opportunities in modern agriculture.
Enhance youth participation in program and policy discussions on issues and opportunities for accelerating agricultural transformation.
Recognize and support emerging youth leaders and groups advocating for youth led innovations in Southeast Asian agriculture.
The SEARCA Youth Ambassadors Platform (SAYAP) is an internal youth empowerment platform for young SEARCA staff to:
Provide opportunities for professional skills development.
Enhance youth leadership and participation to the design and implementation of SEARCA programs and activities of the 11th FYP.
SAYAP is a walk-the-talk initiative of SEARCA by engaging the "young ones" of SEARCA's workforce both from the program and administrative sectors of the Center. SAYAP members are provided with opportunities to enhance their skills, learn from the "once young" and take the lead in some activities that are by-the-youth, for-the-youth, and with-the-once-youth.
SAYAP organizes SEARCArunungan para sa SEARCAbataan an internal dialogue by and for the SEARCA Young Ones with the SEARCA Young Once. The dialogue is a conversational space to enable knowledge exchanges on topics that are essential for the youth's professional and personal development, as well as to gather youth perspectives on SEARCA's programs and activities.
We'd love to hear from YOUth! Just reach out and let's talk on how you can partner with us.