Empowering tomorrow's leaders: Introducing the Young Professionals Platform - YPP
Welcome to the Young Professionals Platform (YPP), our initiative with youth-led organisations in the AgriFood sector!
Created by young people, for young people, YPP embodies the spirit of innovation and collaboration.
A vibrant start : YPP’s first in-person co-creation Workshop!
On June 25th, a dynamic gathering of youth associations from the AgriFood sector took place at the EIT Food Offices in Belgium.
This inaugural in-person workshop was not just a meeting but a melting pot of ideas and inspirations, aimed at sculpting the future of food sustainability.
Since its launch in April 2024, YPP has been a beacon of hope and action.
Founding members including YPARD, IAAS, FAO, APPatEIT, and EIT Food Alumni, alongside various EIT Food teams such as Education, Innovation, Business Creation, Global Relationships, Public Insights & Engagement, FoodEducators, Communication & Events , came together to brainstorm and carve paths for meaningful and impactful collaborations.
YPP’s Mission : Catalysing Change
YPP stands as a pivotal force in the agrifood sector, driving youth organisations to offer fresh perspectives and take bold actions towards a fair, healthy, and resilient food system.
Through this platform, EIT Food supports five youth-led organizations across different career stages, helping them thrive and, in return, enrich the broader food community.
The YPP aims to be a collaborative and dynamic platform that supports and inspires young people to innovate and act.
It seeks to address the challenges faced by young professionals in transforming global food systems.
This will enable EIT Food to address current and future skills needs and helping to shape capacity building initiatives for the sector.
The Heart of YPP : Our Founding Members
YPARD
Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) is an international movement by Young Professionals for Young Professionals for Agricultural Development.
YPARD operates as a network at global, regional and local levels. They have over 33 000 members from 65 different countries.
Their aim is to enable and empower young professionals around the globe to shape and transform our current food system.
YPARD advocates for a food system that is just and allows for the full participation of youth through publications, public speaking, policy working groups, mentorships, training programmes, webinars and events.
IAAS
IAAS is the biggest student organisation in agricultural and related sciences with over 67 years of history.
Their mission is to exchange experiences, knowledge and ideas and to improve the mutual understanding between students in the field of agriculture and related sciences all over the world.
They have over 10 000 active members, from 50 different countries, more than 100 partners worldwide and over 100 000 Alumni.
IAAS drives international exchange programmes, global projects and global events.
FAO – World Food Forum Innovation Lab
The WFF Innovation Lab consists of hands-on competitions for students and young professionals – including research challenges, startup challenges, incubation and acceleration initiatives, bootcamps and networking events – as well as Masterclasses with inspirational and educational content from renowned experts and emerging young leaders on how to nurture innovation for a better food future.
The WFF focuses on transforming agrifood systems to address the climate crisis and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the slogan “ Good food for all, today and tomorrow”.
The WFF bring innovators together to raise awareness on the importance of these two issues, with the aim of identifying out-of-the-box, actionable solutions to minimize and mitigate the impact of climate change in our lifetime, while simultaneously increasing global access to sustainable and healthy food.
APPatEIT
The Alt Protein Project at EIT Food is a student initiative focused on enhancing research, education and awareness across Europe, in the field of Alternative Proteins.
With the support of two impactful organisations committed to shaping the future of food: The Good Food Institute (GFI) and EIT Food.
The initiative is driven by 45 university students & alumni from across Europe. They bring together a pan-European community sprouted in the EIT Food Education Master in Food Systems Programme : Aarhus University, Lund University , Warsaw University, University of Reading, University of Hohenheim, University of Turin.
Their united goal is to reimagine Protein across Europe through : building courses and majors, stimulating open access research, catalysing entrepreneurship, generating awareness and creating an inspiring Community.
Looking Ahead : Shaping the YPP’s future
In an earlier kick-off meeting in April, the organisations outlined the needs and potential offerings of EIT Food teams and organizations-member of the YPP.
The common thread among the needs of different EIT Food teams was the requirement to scale and reach larger audiences of young professionals for education, innovation, and public engagement programmes, as well as to involve young professionals in EIT Food projects and events.
The common needs among the youth organizations revolve around raising awareness of youth issues, securing funding and resources for projects, enhancing community engagement, and fostering collaboration opportunities.
This week’s workshop set the stage for defining YPP’s strategic focus areas. It highlighted the common aspirations of youth organizations to enhance visibility and foster greater community engagement. The discussions led to defining priorities & timeline and shaping concrete value adding & impactful actionable plans.
Stay tuned to this News Section for upcoming updates !
EIT Food Alumni
EIT Food Alumni is a community that brings together the learners & startups from the EIT Food programmes, to connect, share and learn from each other.
They are empowering alumni to advance a sustainable food system; leverage the peer-2-peer alumni network to spread the EIT Food message and recruit new people or start-ups for the EIT programmes; drive growth through events, mentorship and job opportunities; and provide feedback and help EIT Food to improve their offering.
EIT Food Alumni’s main activities will be clustered in 3 groups : mentorship support, support for partners and events & activities, all close to the values and missions of EIT Food.
The vital role of Youth in shaping the future of the Agrifood Sector
Are you also part of a youth organisation active in the AgriFood Sector and eager to exchange ideas on potential collaboration ?
Contact karine.akopian@eitfood.eu
Are you an EIT Food Programme Alumna or Alumnus and didn't join the EIT Food Alumni Community yet ?
Check : Get early access to insights & talents | EIT Food Learning Services
