RAS and empowered youth for balanced transformation in rural and urban communities

Ensuring effective linkages, synergies and complementarities between urban, peri-urban and rural areas to support balanced, sustainable and inclusive rural and urban transformation is critical to end hunger, eradicate poverty and to achieve the other Sustainable Development Goals. It is also vital for the sustainability of agricultural value chains and food systems, to increase incomes and to create opportunities for decent employment, particularly for young people.

According to FAO, over half of the people aged between 15 and 24 live in rural areas worldwide in 2016. These rural youth can play particularly important roles in supporting inclusive transformation processes. However, rural youth - particularly women and girls, migrants and vulnerable groups – face major chHallenges in realising their potential to contribute to sustainable development at the local, national and global levels. They often have limited access to decent employment, assets, natural resources, land, finance and markets, and often lack access to knowledge, services and appropriate advice. Coupled with limited access to modern energy and communications, this makes rural areas less attractive and contributes to migration of young people from rural to urban areas.

Rural advisory services (RAS) can play important roles in these processes. The 8th GFRAS Annual Meeting provides a unique opportunity to exchange on and learn about the roles, relations, challenges and opportunities of youth and RAS in the context of rural and urban transformation. Participants will also examine the capacities needed by RAS to effectively support processes of inclusive transformation and discuss the adaptations to policies and investments required.

In plenary sessions participants will gain a common understanding of the different concepts, learn from evidence and gain insights on some innovative examples. The 'Shift and Share' session as well as the Share fair will complement this with many stories, cases, ideas and examples. The following parallel sessions will then be held for participants to have in-depth discussions and exchange experiences and learnings:

Keynote

 

icon pdf Youth and the Changing Rural-urban Dynamics (pdf 260KB), Elske van de Fliert, Australia