Director-General highlights role of youth in agrifood systems transformation at Y7 Summit

Rome - Director-General QU Dongyu today addressed the Summit of the Youth 7 (Y7), a platform for young people to share their ideas and policy proposals with the Heads of State and Government of the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

Qu was invited to deliver remarks by Italy, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the Group of 7 (G7).  The 50th G7 will take place in southern Italy from June 13 to 15. 

In his address, the Director-General said youth played a crucial role in shaping the future and underlined their support to FAO's Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and better life - leaving no one behind.

Qu emphasized the transformative power of youth engagement in building a more sustainable and inclusive future, and in driving the transformative change needed.

The Director-General also emphasized the role of science and innovation as potential solutions to the multiple crises facing the world, and that the world needs the innovative ideas and fresh perspectives of the youth to rise to the new challenges of the digital world. 

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opened the meeting in Rome by outlining the priorities of Italy's presidency, which include combating climate change while supporting industry and agriculture to create more jobs. During the May 20-24 meeting in Rome, youth delegations are invited to exchange ideas on the following four topics: sustainability and climate; inclusion; innovation; and the future of work. The rest of the meeting was to be hosted by FAO at its headquarters in Rome.

FAO and youth

FAO, under the leadership of Qu, firmly believes in the systematic engagement of the world’s youth and recognizes their immense potential in transforming global agrifood systems and helping accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Underscoring such a position is FAO's Strategic Framework for the next 10 years, which places youth, gender, and inclusion as cross-cutting themes for all its programme of work. 

In 2019, Qu launched the FAO Youth Committee to increase youth engagement and foster their innovative spark. Since then, the Youth Committee has been actively networking among young and youthful FAO staff and reaching out to major youth groups from around the world with the launch of the World Food Forum.

The Forum serves as a groundbreaking platform, aiming to become the foremost global hub for youth engagement in agrifood systems.

Qu ended his remarks by inviting all members of the Y7 Summit to take part in this year’s World Food Forum, which will take place from 14 to 18 October at FAO's headquarters in Rome, and which includes the Global Youth Forum as a groundbreaking platform aimed at becoming the foremost global hub for youth engagement in agrifood systems.