The WFF Young Scientists Group launches its third cohort

06/05/2025

The World Food Forum (WFF)’s Global Youth Action Initiative (Youth Initiative) is proud to announce the third cohort of the Young Scientists Group (YSG), whose term will run from 2025 to 2027.

Established to strengthen the scientific foundation of the WFF Youth Initiative, the YSG provides expert and technical input across its core programmes, including the Youth Assembly, Youth Education Programme and Youth Innovation Lab. Each YSG cohort is also responsible for producing a biennial report on key technical issues of particular relevance to youth in the context of agrifood systems transformation.

The two previous YSG cohorts have made significant contributions. The inaugural report, Opportunities and barriers for advancing agrifood systems: Empowering young people for a sustainable future, explored sustainable solutions to meet global food demands. The second report, Digital technologies for multidimensional youth engagement in agrifood systems transformation, highlighted the transformative potential of digital tools in youth engagement.

Building on this legacy of previous cohorts, the new YSG cohort will continue to provide vital scientific input to the WFF Youth Initiative and support Youth Assembly consultations. By identifying emerging priorities among young people, their findings will shape the group’s research outputs and inform the biennial report to be presented in October 2026.

2025-2027 cohort statistics

The latest call for applications attracted over 300 submissions from young researchers, with the highest number coming from Africa, followed by Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near East and North Africa, and North America. A notable majority of eligible applicants were young women.

Applicants underwent a thorough three-round evaluation process. In line with the WFF Youth Initiative's core values, careful consideration was given to ensure gender, regional and disciplinary balance. For more information on the selection process, please refer to this document. The WFF Youth Initiative extends its gratitude to the experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) who supported the evaluation and selection process.

A total of 23 new members were selected and onboarded, with one member from the second cohort extending their tenure. This brings the third YSG cohort to 24 members, its largest to date, with representation from all six global regions

To explore their backgrounds and expertise, browse through their bios!