YPARD
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| Motto | Ensure sustainably improved livelihoods worldwide |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2006 |
| Type | Platform |
| Purpose | Agricultural development |
| Headquarters | Rome |
| Location | |
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Region served
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Worldwide |
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Director
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Courtney Paisley |
| Website | www |
YPARD (Young Professionals for Agricultural Development) is an international movement made by young professionals for young professionals. YPARD operates as a network; it is not a formalized institution. With more than 10,000 members from 168 countries, this multi-stakeholder platform's main mission is to serve as a collective global network that enables young professionals to realize their full potential and contribute proactively towards innovative and sustainable agricultural development.
The idea of YPARD was born at EFARD (European Forum for Agricultural Research for Development) meeting held in Zurich, Switzerland in May 2005 and was formally launched during a side meeting at the GFAR Triennial conference in New Delhi, India, on 8 November 2006.
Its headquarters is in Rome, Italy, where it is hosted by GFAR. The current Director of YPARD is Courtney Paisley, from Canada.
FAO states that in the next 35 years the world’s population will increase from 7 billion to over 10 billion. At the same time, agriculture is an ageing and undervalued profession for which there is a declining interest among young people.
Young professionals face numerous challenges including making their voices heard and exerting influence in the field of AR4D. Lack of youth involvement in AR4D has negative implications for the sector, reducing the potential for innovation, use of new communication technologies, inclusivity and future sustainability.
In response to this, in April 2005, at EFARD in Zurich, a small group of young scientists observed that an important policy debate was taking place, but with very little involvement of young scientists and decides to take action. Two months later in Rome was held a meeting between the group of young professionals and representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the GFAR, Biodiversity International and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
In December 2005, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), in Marrakech, took place a roundtable with the topic: “How to Increase Young People's Involvement in Agricultural Research for Development (ARD)?” That was the seed that between March and June 2006, in Bern, gave the input for the meeting with Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) where the initial funding proposal was discussed and signed.
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