Youth Assembly capacity development session: Understanding the role of nutrition and healthy diets in agrifood systems transformation

The World Food Forum (WFF)'s Youth Assembly, in collaboration with the SUN Civil Society Network, Act4Food and McGill Youth Advisory Delegation, hosted a youth-led capacity development session titled “Understanding the role of nutrition and healthy diets in agrifood systems transformation”.  Held virtually on 11 August 2025, the event gathered over 200 youth leaders, policymakers and experts to discuss how nutrition and healthy diets can transform agrifood systems.

Valeria Morales, a member of the WFF Youth Policy Board (YPB), opened the session, welcoming participants and highlighting the central role of youth in advocating for accessible, affordable and culturally appropriate healthy diets. She delivered the presentation introducing the joint statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on principles of healthy diets: adequate, balanced, moderate and diverse. Drawing from her own work with Indigenous communities in the Amazon region, she stressed the importance of integrating cultural appropriateness into nutrition frameworks, while ensuring access and affordability remain central to action.

Expanding the discussion, Atul Upadhaya, Nutrition Specialist and former President of the Nepal Food Scientists and Technologists Association (NEFOSTA), presented “Healthy diets from farm to fork: A youth call to action”, and highlighted the direct linkages between healthy diets, sustainability and resilience, underlining youth as drivers of agrifood systems transformation.

To reinforce participants’ understanding,  Fawa Bagoudou, a member of the WFF Young Scientists Group, moderated a quiz covering the principles of healthy diets, barriers to access and key statistics, including the sobering fact that 2.6 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2024.

The session then spotlighted youth-led initiatives. Sean Counihan, Senior Advocacy and Youth Adviser at the SUN Civil Society Network, shared lessons from the Youth Leaders for Nutrition Programme, emphasizing the role of community dialogues in driving policy change. Ayesha Khan from Act4Food and Jeanne Gonelle from the McGill Youth Advisory Delegation followed, presenting models of collective youth action and youth informed policy advocacy that are strengthening the global movement for equitable nutrition.

Participants were then divided into three breakout groups by region, to reflect on the meaning of healthy diets in their own contexts. Using interactive tools, they discussed the challenges their communities face in achieving healthy diets including affordability, food literacy, processed food industries, political instability, infrastructure barriers and rising food prices. Each group also shared ideas on the kinds of support needed, such as expanded nutrition education, community gardens, policy reforms and stronger multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Moderators from each breakout group returned with concise summaries of key highlights, showcasing the diversity of youth perspectives while underscoring common priorities for action.

In closing, Alexandros Tataridas, a member of the YPB stressed the importance of equipping youth with evidence-based knowledge to advocate for systemic change. “Understanding healthy diets is not just about personal choices, it is about reimagining entire agrifood systems to work for people and the planet”, he emphasized, inviting participants to continue engaging in upcoming Youth Assembly consultations.

Insights from this session will contribute to the WFF Youth Assembly’s year-long process, feeding into a set of youth recommendations on nutrition and agrifood systems transformation to be presented at global policy forums in 2025 and beyond.