Bright young sparks to help ignite FAO’s way forward

18 September 2019 - The FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu has launched a new Youth Committee charged with tapping into the potential of young employees to create a more dynamic workforce.

Young people are often catalysts for change and can help build a more dynamic organization, the Director-General said at the launch at FAO’s headquarters in Rome.

“Young people are our future. If any country or organization doesn’t care for their young people, they will not have a bright future,” Qu Dongyu said.

The volunteer-based committee is made up of FAO colleagues from headquarters as well as regional, liaison and country offices. The committee’s membership is drawn from a broad cross-section of FAO’s expertise areas and age groups. Together, they will devise programs to encourage young FAO employees to gain broader experience and responsibilities through their work both at headquarters and in the field.

In the coming years, these young people will become the next leaders, the Director-General said.

Creating a movement of determined young people who see their role at FAO as a mission rather than ‘just a job’ will also help drive the agency’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and beyond.

Continuing FAO’s mandate, the committee will also support Member Countries in policy areas that encourage youth employment and leadership, particularly in rural areas.

FAO Assistant Director-General Máximo Torero will chair the group, and Angelica Jacome (ODG) has been named as the Committee’s Executive Chief.

“To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals we must lead by example. We need innovative solutions and we need to move faster,” Torero said.

The committee’s ethos will be inclusive, dynamic and paperless, he added.