Thousand African Youth Summit on food systems and agroecology

14-16 October 2024. In recent years, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) has significantly increased youth involvement through the establishment of the AFSA Youth Platform. This initiative aims to engage young Africans in promoting agroecology, seed sovereignty, land justice, climate action and putting them at the forefront of advocating for sustainable food system reforms and policies. 

In May 2023, the AFSA Youth Platform held a summit on Food Systems and Agroecology in Machakos county Kenya in 2023 (Report Here), the participants collectively agreed on key action items and next steps on youth engagements within the entire food systems chain in Africa. That Summit on food systems and Agroecology provided a space for African Youth to deliberate on challenges affecting them and the African Food Systems. 

 The “Thousand African Youth Summit on Food Systems and Agroecology” was agreed as a way forward to involve more African youth in providing and discussing solutions to the challenges facing African food systems and the youth involved. The summit is a significant gathering that aims to build upon the success of the African Youth Summit on Food Systems which was held in Machakos, Kenya, 2023. 

Summit Thematic Areas 

1. Agroecological entrepreneurship in a climate crisis 
2. Technological innovations for adaptation through agroecology 
3. Leveraging indigenous and local community knowledge and practices to address issues related to the food and climate crisis. 
4. Approaches to minimise conflicts in the context of the climate crisis through agroecology 
5. Building resilience through biodiversity conservation in agroecology to cope with the climate crisis