2024 - 2025 engagements

In 2024, the Youth Assembly organized a series of sessions and consultations to advance youth involvement in the forestry sector. Key engagements included the Pre-COFO 27 Youth Assembly session in July 2024, the Thematic Youth Assembly session at the World Food Forum (WFF) flagship event in Rome as part of the Youth Task Force on Forestry Initiative, and the Youth Dialogue held during the 8th Mediterranean Forest Week on 4 November.

In 2025, the Youth Assembly held a Thematic Youth Assembly consultation on forestry that led to the publication of the youth vision Document Strengthening Youth Engagement in Forestry Governance. For its WFF flagship event, in collaboration with FAO Forestry Division, the Youth Assembly session on Forestry gathered Youth leaders, experts and policymakers for discussions on innovation, restoration and resilience in the forestry sector, building on the 2025 Youth Assembly consultation on Forestry and highlighting youth-led solutions and intergenerational collaboration toward COFO 28 and beyond.

Key youth priorities that emerged from these engagements included:

• Centre Indigenous and local voices: Treat Indigenous communities as knowledge holders and co-leaders, not merely consultants, in forest governance and restoration.
• Invest in locally driven innovation: Expand funding, education and policy incentives that foster inclusive innovation ecosystems, prioritizing equity and accessibility.
• Institutionalize youth engagement: Embed youth participation within forestry policymaking processes at local, national and global levels.
• Bridge traditional and scientific knowledge: Promote intercultural dialogue integrating traditional knowledge with modern science through inclusive, bilingual facilitation.
• Make forestry relevant and participatory: Link restoration initiatives to livelihoods, cultural identity and education via grassroots campaigns, eco-tourism and green jobs.

Tentative 2026–2027 engagements

The 2026 Youth Assembly will build on the momentum of past engagements, positioning youth as key leaders in shaping forestry discussions and actions. Establishing a collaborative global platform connecting youth and youth organizations engaged in forestry and its linkages with food security and agrifood systems will remain a priority. This platform will enable young people to define priorities, exchange ideas and co-develop innovative solutions to address pressing forestry challenges, focusing on forests’ essential roles in supporting agrifood systems, from carbon storage to sustainable livelihoods. These efforts will equip young leaders with the practical skills and forestry knowledge necessary to engage in high-level policy dialogues and contribute meaningfully to decision-making spaces.

The Youth Assembly will launch a consultative process to prepare for the COFO 28, ensuring youth voices are integrated from the earliest stages. These efforts will also contribute to shaping youth engagement leading up to the World Forestry Congress in 2027, the Mediterranean Forest Week (12–16 April 2027) and the 2027 Regional Forestry Commissions, building momentum and continuity across key global forestry dialogues.

To amplify youth priorities, the Youth Assembly will engage key forestry and agrifood stakeholders, present consultation outcomes, and advocate for greater visibility and influence of youth-driven solutions.