Presentation by Libuška Valešová (YPARD Europe) at the 2016 annual meeting of the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD).

1. Updates on YPARD – Young
Professionals for Agricultural
Development
Libuše Valešová, YPARD Europe

2. §Global platform
§ Young Professionals
under 40 years
§ Active in ARD
§ Multi-stakeholders
§ Decentralized movement
Objectives
1. To facilitate the exchange of information
and knowledge among young
professionals across disciplines,
professions, age and regions
2. To broaden opportunities for young
professionals to contribute to strategic
ARD policy debates
3. To promote agriculture among young
people
4. To facilitate access to resources and
capacity building opportunities

4. • GFAR in collaboration with CGIAR and YPARD have issued a
call for proposals by young agricultural entrepreneurs across
the globe to apply for the Youth Agripreneurs Project (YAP)
• Research Programme on Drylands Systems, YPARD and
Bern University of Applied Sciences (HAFL) organized a
workshop in Midlet, Morocco to validate the research
findings on youth aspirations in drylands.
• Based on the research YPARD worked with local videographers to
develop videos in English and French.

5. • Committee on Food Security: The CFS43 Social Media
Bootcamp
• Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS) is a new
hosting istitution for YPARD Europe.
• Working with the Fondation Nord - Sud on the
Mediterranean dialogues for a meeting in Rome.
• Three Interns were recruited to boost information services
in English, French and Spanish. A lot of work is to be made
in finding more relevant resources in French and Spanish.

6. • GCARD3 – active roles
• YPARD10 years celebrations are still blooming everywhere
in the world, successful Testimonial series in English,
Spanish and French
• A concept note to support the capacity building of YPARD
Team in reaching out to local and traditional media was
developped. This includes a booklet (as per Business Plan)
and a series of webinars to get familiar with the booklet.
Efforts to fundraise this projects are currently made.

7. • TropenTag Conference 2016 - Mission 2026: Acting now to
support youth in agriculture
Looking back, what actions will the youth of tomorrow wish today’s
custodians had taken to improve the agricultural sector of 2026 and their
place in it?
• New national chapters within YPARD: Burkina Faso, DRC,
Madagascar, Romania, Peru, Jamaica
• New YPARD representative in the EFARD´s management
team

8. § Focus on YPARD representation in Central and
Eastern Europe; Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
§ Fundraising opportunities
§ Collaboration with the hosting istitution for YPARD
Asia and Pacific, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences (CAAS)
-
YPARD Europe: Way forward