Empowering Youth Advocacy in Agriculture and Climate Action
Participants at the official launch of the Consortium of African Youth in Agriculture and Climate Change (CAYACC) earlier this year.
From March 13-18, 2024, the Consortium of African Youth in Agriculture and Climate Change (CAYACC), a youth-led secretariat of youth organizations, participated in a joint “write-shop” hosted by AGRA in Nairobi, Kenya. Together, CAYACC and AGRA crafted a joint proposal for strengthening the consortium’s capacity. It focuses on three core areas:
Strengthening young people’s participation in national, regional, and continental policymaking and decision-making processes and facilitating their participation in regional, continental, and global forums and engagements.
Building the advocacy capacity of CAYACC members, helping at least 2,000 young men and women and 200 member organizations effectively advocate the design and implementation of youth-focused policies.
Strengthening CAYACC’s institutional and organizational capacities (leadership, management, monitoring, and evaluation) such that it can effectively manage a portfolio of grants.
This writing workshop followed CAYACC's official launch at the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme Partnership Platform in Zambia in late 2023. The session built on and aligned with CAYACC’s strategic plan and work plan, which were developed with Policy LINK support. The strategic plan focuses on four main objectives:
Build the capacity of members.
Facilitate the breakdown of agricultural and climate change policies into actionable interventions.
Identify and strengthen strategic partnerships.
Create communications channels and a knowledge management and learning platform.
As a next step, Policy LINK looks forward to continuing to work with other implementing partners to support CAYACC to achieve their vision.