René van Veenhuizen: Young people transforming urban food systems

Youth participation is beginning to influence urban and food policies, René van Veenhuizen, Senior Project Manager with Hivos, said at the "Youth Leadership for Safe and Resilient Cities" event at WUF13 in Baku, Report informs.

He noted that the Urban Futures program is already showing early signs of moving from isolated initiatives to systemic change, including youth influence on local policy.

Van Veenhuizen noted that the program is creating more than 20 multi-stakeholder youth platforms and has engaged over 2,000 participants.

"It's not just the number of participants that matters, but also how youth influence change in urban food systems and policy mechanisms," he said.

He noted that while results vary across cities, there are interconnected components of the program, enabling the exchange of experiences and the transition from practical initiatives to food system transformation.

"In Africa, the greatest results have been achieved in the area of ​​governance: school clubs, innovation hubs, mentoring and training programs, as well as safe spaces and youth food labs are being created," he added.