The Expert Consultation was divided into three main segments: Setting the Stage; Development of Recommendations; and Summary and Conclusions
Setting the stage
In this part of the Consultation, following the introduction of participants and outlining of the objectives and working procedures, a number of background papers were presented and discussed on the situation and needs of rural youth:
·
FAO's Role in Supporting Rural Youth: Programmes and Possibilities for the Future. R. William Seiders, Agricultural Training and Extension Officer, Rural Youth; Agricultural Extension and Education Service (SDRE), FAO
· Comparative International Analysis of Rural Youth Policy in Developing Countries: Coping with Diversity and Change. John Durston, Social Affairs Officer, Social Development Division, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile
· Youth Development, Part of a Comprehensive Strategy for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries. Virginia Gobeli, National 4-H Programme Leader, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., United States of America
· Summary of Papers on Extension Rural Youth Programmes in Selected Countries. Jonathan Cook, be consultants, United Kingdom
· Youth Professional Research-Knowledge Taxonomy Applied to Rural Youth Programmes in Developing Countries. Mary Kay Munson, Extension Specialist, 4-H/Youth Development, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
Brief presentations of their country papers were then made by the participants from Botswana, Uganda, Thailand and Guatemala, leading into a panel discussion on the problems and opportunities facing government agricultural extension rural youth programmes under the chairmanship of Kalim Qamar, Senior Officer, Agricultural Training and Extension, SDRE, FAO.
As the final part of "Setting the Stage", papers on the three main issue areas of the Consultation were presented and discussed:
· Youth Policy and Resources.
Rigoberto Pérez-Morales, Coordinator, International Programmes, National Foundation of 4-S Clubs, San Jose, Costa Rica
· Institutional Strengthening and Programme Management. Juliana B. Tolentino, Senior Agriculturalist, Specialist Services Division, Agricultural Training Institute, Department of Agriculture, Quezon City, Philippines
· Educational Content and Delivery Systems. Grace Auma Agili, Senior Agricultural Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Marketing, Nairobi, Kenya.
Development of Recommendations
Participants then worked in three small groups; one for each of the three issue areas to discuss the assigned topic and prepare a list of recommendations. The small groups went through four stages in the development of the recommendations:
· Visioning
Participants described their vision as to what they would like the situation to be in the future for rural youth programmes with regard to their focus area under discussion.
· Discussion of needs
Needs, problems and opportunities were discussed in trying to reach the vision for the future.
· Broad areas of action
An outline of the broad areas of action which would be needed to move toward the future vision for youth programmes was then developed.
· Recommendations
The broad areas of action were then developed into specific recommendations for FAO, for governments and for rural youth programmes.
These results were then presented and discussed in a plenary session.
Summary and Conclusions
Following the plenary presentation and discussion of the draft recommendations, a committee comprised of the group chairpersons and rapporteurs together with FAO staff worked to develop final recommendations for the Consultation. These were then presented in a plenary session followed by a brief discussion and closing remarks.
