Deadline: 25-Feb-23

Are you looking for a way to get your voice heard in food and agriculture while taking your career to the next level? Then this volunteer leadership opportunity with the World Food Forum (WFF) is for you!

The World Food Forum (WFF) Youth Action Track Focal Points Group (FPG), with 12 youth leaders from across the globe, established the first cohort for the period 2022-2024.

The aim of this group is to draft youth policy positions on food and agriculture topics and coordinate regional activities, providing strategic direction for upcoming key events and the Youth Action Assembly during the WFF flagship event held in October of each year at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Purpose

• The WFF Youth Action Track is a space to nurture and build capacity for those interested in engaging and building capacity in policy dialogues, forming connections and coordinating with various youth-led and -serving organizations, and working on joint actions. It does not compete, but rather complements and amplifies official youth constituencies and their work.
• The Youth Action Track operates on the policy priorities identified in the global and regional compendiums set in the annual youth assembly during the WFF flagship event hosted in October.
• Within the Youth Action Track and the broader WFF, the Youth Mechanism is an independent youth-led structure, creating a formal space for engagement (Youth Assembly) with youth bodies including partners, organizations, and independent young people, to carry out the work listed in the ‘Methods of Work segment’.

Engagements of the Youth Mechanism 

The Youth Mechanism engages in the broad themes of:

• Policy Advocacy:  Collective and meaningful participation of young people in official and formal avenues of policy design, implementation, monitoring, follow-up policies related to agri-food systems at international and national levels. National Chapters and National Delegations.
• Youth Action: Provide young people with an inclusive platform that encourages them to lead, join, showcase and share innovative and effective actions aimed at addressing the needs of children and youth related to food and agriculture activities
• Space for Discussion: Provision of platforms and opportunities of dialogue with political decision makers, as well as among youth of different rightsholder groups. Assemblies.
• Knowledge and Capacity Building: Facilitation of capacity building processes and activities for young people aimed at enhancing understanding, knowledge and skills in relation to the focus areas of the WFF and its technical and political processes and organs.

Themes

Each Focal Point acts in the interests of the WFF Youth Mechanism. It is composed of representatives / focal points from:

• youth constituencies/counterparts of the UN counterparts and avenues related to the agriculture and food theme;
• representatives from person-centric and minority youth stakeholder groups;
• youth/youth groups identified through a public process.

Term Period 

• The mandate period of the Co-Chairs is one (1) year, and staggered in nature.
• The expected work commitment is 5-10 hours per week

Eligibility Criteria

• The Focal Points Group is now opening up a call for applications for interested individuals between the ages of 18 and 35 years to join the team.
• The Co-Chairs are member entities of the Youth Mechanism, represented by one lead individual from each entity designated to facilitate the coordination of the Mechanism.
• The Co-Chairs must be from:
  • A youth-or-child led member entity (non-for profit youth organization)
• The co-chairs shall be/have:
  • Extensive experience in an advocacy-focused, membership-based, youth-led or youth-serving organization
  • Experience in and understanding of the UN and multilateral system, including working with member states and relevant UN entities, in particular agriculture and food related topics
  • Experience and understanding of agriculture, food, youth engagement and related nexus
  • Able to appreciate and work with people from diverse backgrounds, identities, ideologies, viewpoints and nationalities
  • Able to step outside of themselves and understand that they are an interlocutor, and facilitator (and not a representative) of global youth
• The lead representatives of the Co Chair entity should be/have:
  • Advocacy and volunteer coordination experience;
  • Fluent in spoken and written English. Working knowledge of other official UN languages is appreciated
  • Experience in administrative work and management in youth lead or youth serving sectors;
  • Working experience in agrifood systems.
• To avoid conflict of interest and maintain neutrality, throughout their mandate, the Co-Chair and its lead representatives must not:
  • Be employed by the WFF secretariat, FAO, and/or all UN agencies and counterpart entities of the Youth Mechanism (excluding internships at the UN and its specialized agencies not named above conducted as a part of a university program).
  • The Co-Chair entity may at any point in time replace its primary lead with another person within the entity that meets the criteria outlined in this TOR. The notification of such a change needs to be communicated to the membership of the Mechanism and the WFF Secretariat.
  • Leads representing the Co-Chairs, at present, are not compensated. They may derive funding through their organization or through mechanisms like a paid fellowship through a graduate program, a paid internship, a specific scholarship or any other means if it is from a non-profit entity. In such a situation, this arrangement needs to be disclosed during the time of application, and the individual has to declare that the terms of funding do not pose an influence in their work.

For more information, visit World Food Forum.