#YALI4Ag: Youth Innovating for Resilient Agriculture an International Youth Day Event

The U.S. Department of State, in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Africa Program, will host the all-virtual #YALI4Ag: Youth Innovating for Resilient Agriculture Livestream event on August 12, 2021, from 08:30 AM to 12:30 PM (U.S. EDT). Please join us for the #YALI4Ag: Youth Innovating for Resilient Agriculture Livestream(#YALI4Ag) event on August 12, 2021. This event will focus on challenges, opportunities, and Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) alumni innovations for transforming Africa’s agriculture to create resilient food systems. As YALI begins its second decade, #YALI4Ag will serve as a bridge from YALI 10 to YALI 11, demonstrating the United States’ ongoing commitment to African youth, specifically in the domains of climate change, inclusive agriculture, and food systems. This event also aligns with the United Nations’ theme of the 2021 International Youth Day, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health.” Agriculture is the backbone of Africa’s economic development goals and is central to achieving food security for its citizens. While progress has been made since independence, many countries have struggled with transforming their agricultural sectors from being predominantly subsistence to commercial; building agricultural sectors that are resilient to environmental and climate changes; creating healthy food systems that meet the needs of their population; and, engaging youth and women in agribusiness to provide employment and enhance livelihoods. Properly supported, the sector can boost the continent’s ability to feed itself, develop continent-wide supply chains, increase Africa’s share of global trade, and boost its development. In order to achieve these goals, African countries must rapidly transform their agricultural sectors, ensuring that African youth play a more central role in the agricultural sector. #YALI4Ag will:

• Explore challenges, opportunities, and best practices for transforming Africa’s agricultural sectors, including anticipating and building inclusive agricultural and food systems resilient to climate change and addressing the barriers that prevent African youth from engaging in agriculture and agribusiness;
• Highlight YALI innovations and achievements in the agricultural sector;
• Provide practical ideas and recommendations for boosting Africa’s agricultural sector to achieve food security and youth engagement in the face of climate change; and
• Feature private sector speakers, policymakers, YALI alumni, and experts from the United States and Africa. Attendees will also include alumni from various YALI programs, as well as its vast network.

About YALI: Africa’s demographic trajectory and the critical role that youth will—and need to—play in securing the continent’s future, led the U.S. government to establish the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in 2010 as its signature initiative for investing in the next generation of African leaders. Established in 2010, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is the U.S. Government’s signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Over the past decade, YALI grew from 115 young leaders to include more than 24,000 alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship exchange program, four Regional Leadership Centers (RLCs) in Africa, and an extensive digital community called the YALI Network with more than 700,000 members. These programs aim to strengthen democratic institutions and good governance, spur economic growth and prosperity, and foster peace and security in Africa.