Términos y condiciones

Background

The World Food Forum (WFF) is an open and inclusive global platform that drives action to transform agrifood systems through the power of youth, science and innovation, and investment. Bringing together all stakeholders, it serves as a dynamic space for turning ideas into actions, scaling solutions and forging synergistic partnerships. By uniting diverse voices and fostering cross-sectoral and intergenerational collaboration, it accelerates progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, driving action at global, regional and local levels.

Within this framework, the WFF's Global Youth Action Initiative (Youth Initiative) was established to harness the passion and power of youth to transform our agrifood systems. It acts as a catalytic movement and driver of youth engagement in food governance and serves as a knowledge centre and innovation lab, fostering and inspiring youth-led solutions.

The Transformative Research Challenge (TRC) is a global competition designed to empower young researchers to develop innovative and impactful solutions to transform agrifood systems. Since its inception in 2021, the WFF Youth Innovation Lab has partnered with leading organizations in agrifood research and United Nations Agencies to address critical challenges through a global platform. The TRC is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adheres to the principles of fairness, transparency and impartiality, ensuring a credible competition process.

Participants are encouraged to carefully review the terms and conditions outlined below, which detail the eligibility, process and requirements for participation. Finalists present their solutions during the annual WFF flagship event at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, before a global audience and an esteemed jury.

1.   Scope

The 2025 TRC is conducted under several distinct research prize categories:

• Gender Mainstreaming in the Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Prize (co-hosted by the FAO PPR-GEP Secretariat),
• Sustainable Aquaculture Prize (co-hosted by Shanghai Ocean University and the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI)), and
• Integrated Water Management for Food Security Prize (Resilient farming and fishing communities through integrated water management for food security (Co-hosted by the FAO Land and Water Division (NSL) and the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI))

2.   Prizes and Benefits

2.1. All shortlisted teams will receive:

• Capacity development: Shortlisted teams will receive expert guidance through virtual masterclasses and dedicated office hours with experts in the field to help refine and develop their Concept Notes into research proposals.
• Networking opportunities: Shortlisted teams will have the opportunity to connect with a global network of young leaders, agrifood experts and representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as the United Nations.
• Visibility: The WFF Youth Initiative provides a platform for young innovators to showcase their innovative research ideas and approaches to a global audience.

2.2.  Finalist teams will receive:

• Presentation training: Each team will be supported with training to effectively present their research proposals at the WFF flagship event, taking place at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 13–17 October 2025.
• Funded participation: Two finalist teams will be selected per prize category. Each team must nominate one representative to attend the flagship event in Rome, with travel and accommodation covered.
• TRC certificate of achievement.
• Visibility: Finalist teams will be featured on the WFF Youth Initiative website and social media channels.

2.3 General prizes for the finalists and winners of the TRC:

• Publication of research finding on the WFF Youth Initiative website.
• TRC award and certificate.
• Opportunity to apply for the WFF Youth Food Lab incubator programme.

2.4 Research funding for the winners:

• USD 8 000 in research grants for the Gender Mainstreaming in the Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Prize.
• USD 10 000 in research grants for the:
  1. Sustainable Aquaculture Prize, and
  2. Integrated Water Management for Food Security Prize

3.   Eligibility

3.1. Educational background

All applicants must hold at least a bachelor's degree in a field related to agrifood systems, which includes but is not limited to areas such as agriculture, food science, environmental science, sustainable development or other related disciplines.

3.2. Team composition and age requirements

The competition is open to teams of at least 3 and up to 5 individuals (Entrants). All team members must be between the ages of 18 and 35 at the time of submission of their Concept Note.

FAO employees and their immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether related or not, are not eligible to enter the competition. WFF Youth Initiative will determine eligibility at its sole discretion. Partners or relatives of partner staff of the institutions involved in the launch of the competition and relations of the judging committee are not eligible to compete.

3.3. Originality and copyright
Entrants can only submit original works for which they are the sole creators and copyright holders. In the case of a group of authors, the names and ages of all authors must be listed and will be considered as a single Entrant in the copyright rules described below, as well as for the prizes and benefits indicated in Section 3.

3.4.  Team composition and member modifications

Entrants may only indicate their team members during the initial submission. Team members cannot be added or removed after the open call for applications closes. The WFF Youth Initiative team retains the right to remain impartial and uninvolved in any disputes concerning changes to team membership.

3.5. Supervisor inclusion

Entrants can include a supervisor from their institute/university. This supervisor is not considered part of the team.

3.5. Mentor and reviewer restrictions

TRC mentors and reviewers are not permitted to be members of their assigned team and are not permitted to participate as authors of the research submitted by their assigned team.

3.6. Application requirements

Applications with any missing personal information including names, ages, emails, the number of team members and educational background are subject to disqualification. Lacking information in applications means that they are subject to disqualification.  Any missing answers will lead to disqualification.

3.7. Acceptance of terms

Entrants must accept these Terms and Conditions when submitting a Concept Note. Please note that participation is free of charge.

3.8. Submission deadline

Submissions will be accepted until 9 May 2025

3.9. Notification of semi-finalists, finalists and winners

All finalists and winners will be notified by email once the judging process is complete. To confirm your shortlisting, you must reply to the email within seven working days. If no response is received, WFF Youth Initiative reserves the right to offer the prize to another team.

4.   Selection Process

The selection process is divided into three phases:

Phase 1 - Shortlisting

• The first selection round will be done by a panel of experts organized by the WFF Youth Initiative team and knowledge partners, based on the following criteria:
• Identification of the agrifood system challenge and alignment with the Prize topic.
• Covering all the research aspects as outlined in the application form, including but not limited to research methodology, problem identification, data collection and analysis, dissemination of results and any other components as specified in the submitted proposal.
• Degree of innovation in the research approach proposed to address the challenge.
• The potential of the research to create meaningful change, address key relationships and balances within agri-food systems, and offer innovative and sustainable solutions.

Phase 2 - Capacity development

Entrants shortlisted in Phase 1 will receive expert guidance through masterclasses and dedicated office hours with relevant experts in the field. During this phase, entrants are required to develop their initial research ideas into detailed research proposals for submission due by 30 June 2025. Submissions must follow the Research Proposal template, written in one of the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

Phase 3 - Selection of finalists

A second round of evaluation by a panel of experts will be conducted to select the finalist teams. These teams will be invited to pitch their research at the TRC finals during the WFF flagship event in Rome, Italy.

Phase 4 - WFF flagship and TRC finals

Presentations by Finalists and selection of the TRC winners will be made at the 2025 WFF Transformative Research Challenge Finals during the WFF flagship event hosted at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy on 14 October 2025.

5.   Personal Data

In participating in the competition, entrants consent to the collection and use of their personal information, including their name and country, for the purposes of the competition, World Food Forum (WFF) Youth Initiative activities, and as outlined in these terms and conditions. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which hosts the WFF Youth Initiative, is committed to safeguarding personal data in accordance with its internal rules, procedures and applicable data protection laws. Personal data may also be used to verify eligibility, communicate results and coordinate participation in the competition. Additionally, photographs, recordings and other media captured during WFF activities may be used by FAO for communication and promotional purposes.

All personal data will be securely handled, accessible only to authorized personnel, and may be shared with authorized partners or service providers under strict confidentiality agreements. Data will be retained only for as long as is necessary for the stated purposes. Entrants may request access, correction, deletion or object to the processing of their data through the FAO Service Now portal: https://fao.service-now.com/csp. For more information on FAO’s data protection practices, please refer to the FAO Data Protection and Privacy Notice: https://www.fao.org/contact-us/data-protection-and-privacy/en/.

6.   Submission modifications

Participants are advised that any changes to the content of their application as specified in the first submission of the Concept Note, shall result in disqualification from the competition. This rule extends to any section within the Concept Note, including, but not limited to, the title, team members, research methodology and problem statement. It is imperative that the research submission remains cohesive with the Concept Note throughout the entirety of the competition process.

7.   General Terms and Conditions

7.1 Your copyright and moral rights

The WFF Youth Initiative respects your rights and does not claim ownership or copyright for works you submit to this competition. You will retain full ownership and copyright of the research.

In addition, your moral rights will be respected. Whenever your work is published by the WFF Youth Initiative and its partners, you will be credited. Failure to publish a credit due to error or oversight shall not be deemed a breach of this condition.

7.2 Your representations

By submitting works to the WFF Youth Initiative, you confirm that for each work submitted:

• You alone are the author of the Concept Note, it is your original work and to the best of your knowledge, no third party can claim any rights to the material submitted.
• You are the sole copyright holder.
• You have not licensed any rights in the work that conflict with the usage rights required by the WFF Youth Initiative.
• The work does not include trademarks, contract rights or any other intellectual property rights of any other third person or entity.
• You will be responsible for any claim made by any third party in respect of your entry and fully indemnify the WFF Youth Initiative and its sponsors and partners in respect of all royalties, fees and any other funds owed to any person or entity by reason of your breaching any of the foregoing.

The WFF Youth Initiative reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry that is incomplete, unrelated to the theme, or does not comply with the Terms and Conditions or align with the Initiative’s values and guiding principles, even after submission.

7.3 Unacceptable content

The WFF Youth Initiative reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant for content or behavior:

• That is disrespectful of the impartiality and independence of the United Nations, reflects adversely on the WFF Youth Initiative, is incompatible with its aims and objectives, or is derogatory toward any individual or group.
• That is or could be construed as threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory or profane.
• That could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law.

7.4 Use of Works

By participating in this competition, you agree that any work you submit may be used free of charge by the WFF Youth Initiative and their partners for non-commercial marketing and promotional purposes. These uses may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Displaying the Concept Notes entries on the WFF website (and possibly websites of partners) and social media networks, and for the shortlisted teams and winner(s), featuring team profiles using the information submitted in the Concept Note and associated materials including recordings of the presentations at the online virtual WFF flagship event.
• Displaying the entries in any media for non-commercial use to promote the work of the WFF Youth Initiative.
• Extracting and reproducing any component of the work as necessary to promote the work of the WFF Youth Initiative and its partners.
• Sub-licensing the entries to the press and partners for reproduction in connection with the competition and the WFF Youth Initiative and any related media release by the WFF Youth Initiative  and its partners.

You hereby grant the WFF Youth Initiative and its partners a non-exclusive, irrevocable, free and perpetual license throughout the world for the non-commercial uses described in 7.1 above, for each entry.

You acknowledge your responsibility for protecting your entry against misuse by third parties. The WFF Youth Initiative and its partners can assume no responsibility and are not liable for any misuse of work.

7.5 Miscellaneous

FAO and the WFF Youth Initiative reserves the right to cancel, modify, suspend or delay the Competition in the event of unforeseen circumstances beyond their reasonable control. It reserves the right to change, amend, delete or add to these Terms and Conditions at any time.

FAO, the WFF Youth Initiative team, their officials and agents shall not be responsible or liable for any claims, demands, losses and liability of any kind or nature arising out of or in connection with your participation in this competition or your acceptance or use of the prizes awarded.

FAO and the WFF Youth Initiative shall not be responsible or liable for:

• Any problem, loss or damage, misdirected or illegible entries, delay or failure in receiving and sending the entry because of any network, communication or system interruption or error, or
• Any error, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, site failure or unauthorized access to entries.
• FAO and the WFF Youth Initiative do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any data, information or other material provided by any entrant. FAO and the WFF Youth Initiative explicitly disclaims any responsibility for the content of any data, information and materials provided by the entrants in the context of the competition.

By submitting your Concept Note to the competition, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the WFF Youth Initiative, FAO and their partners from any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, proceedings or legal actions brought by any third party. This includes, but is not limited to, litigation costs, attorney fees, settlement payments and damages arising from or related to FAO and the WFF’s use of your Concept Note. These obligations remain in effect even after the competition concludes.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions, any competition rules, any actions take, or statements made in connection with the competition shall be considered a waiver, whether expressed or implied, of the privileges and immunities of the WFF Youth Initiative or FAO.

7.6 Acceptance

By submitting entries, the entrant confirms that the Terms and Conditions for this competition, as set out above, have been read, understood and agreed to by the entrant.

Presenta tu candidatura ahora!

Envía tu solicitud antes del 9 de mayo de 2025 a las 24:00 (PDT).

Para más información, lee los Términos y condiciones.