Regional
consultations
and sessions
North America
Regional achievements
Since 2022, the WFF North America Youth Assembly has actively engaged over 700 young people through virtual consultations and surveys, identifying key regional priorities such as promoting healthy and sustainable feeding programs, supporting smallholder and Indigenous farmers, and advancing nature-positive agrifood systems.
Building on this foundation, the 2023-2024 period saw more than 500 participants join regional consultations, refining these priorities to focus on food waste reduction in post-secondary settings, policy co-creation and enhancing youth leadership in agrifood system transformation. These efforts have laid the groundwork for actionable strategies to tackle the region's food security and sustainability challenges.
Timeline
- 2021: Launching the Youth Action Compendium
In 2021, the Youth Assembly launched the Youth Action Compendium, outlining youth priorities for agrifood systems with a focus on the FAO's Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment, and Better Life.
- 2022: Laying the foundation
In 2022, the North America region initiated the development of its Youth Action Regional Compendium, analyzing over 30 youth-led documents and holding virtual consultations and surveys. Key policy priority areas for the region included smallholder farmer support, sustainable technologies and resilient agrifood systems through inclusive policies, local food markets and school feeding programmes.
- 2023: Identifying challenges and calls to action
In 2023, the focus shifted to school nutrition, emphasizing raising awareness and integrating nutrition education into school programs.
- 2024: Narrowing the focus
By 2024, the focus turned to food waste reduction in post-secondary settings, advocating for a circular food system and highlighting the need for greater youth engagement and Indigenous inclusion, setting the stage for the Global Youth Action Plan (GYAP) 2025-2026.
Regional policy priority for the GYAP
The selected regional priority for the GYAP is to promote a timely and sustainable transition toward a closed-loop food supply chain that minimizes waste and maximizes resource efficiency. This will be achieved by addressing policy and implementation barriers within university settings, identifying cross-functional solutions and leveraging existing research and experiences to drive youth-led impact.
Actionable items in the Regional Youth Action Plan
- Enhance knowledge and engage North American youth in the food waste hierarchy.
- Establish an Indigenous Advisory Circle to ensure inclusive and culturally relevant solutions.
The action plan will be implemented throughout 2025-2026. For more details, explore the timeline below or consult the document.
Regional Youth Action Plan Implementation Timeline
2025
Q1
- Engage stakeholders and share the GYAP to strengthen partnerships.
- Plan panel workshops and finalize speakers.
- Explore collaborations through the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus's internal discussions.
Q2
- Identify key institutional partners for the panel series.
- Host panel workshops and release the first resource guide.
- Launch the Indigenous Advisory Circle, hold its first meeting and define objectives.
- Collaborate on the panel series and contribute to the resource guide.
Q3 - Q4
- Engage institutional partners to gather and incorporate feedback.
- Continue the panel workshop series and release the second and third resource guides.
- Hold the second Indigenous Advisory Circle meeting.
2026
Q1 - Q2
- Continue planning the expansion of the panel series.
- Re-evaluate the collaboration plan and outline strategic objectives.
Q3
- Continue planning the expansion of the panel series.
- Plan renewed collaborations.
Read more about the other Regional Consultations
News
An initiative of 