On February 22nd, InnovATE hosted an Ask Ag Chat on Agrilinks entiled: “Ask Ag About…Positive Youth Development.”
Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs provide opportunities for young people to build skills and exercise leadership in their communities. In addition, programs that involve universities, extension services, local organizations, government, schools and the private sector can be tremendous catalysts for change.
The panel consisted of Gary Walker (USAID Bureau for Food Security); Bineta Guisse (USAID Education and Research in Agriculture (ERA) project); Prosper Doamekpor (Tuskegee University); Umaru Sheriff (4-H Liberia); and Susan Naburi (4-H Tanzania).
The experts discussed questions from the online audience on a range of topics concerning PYD including:
- Youth are very diverse. What tools or methods do community-based programs use to engage youth demographics, inclusive of gender, education, religion, and life-stage, in agriculturally-focused work?
- How should key stakeholders be engaged to create a positive youth development program?
- What types of training or extension services are most effective for creating sustainable community based youth programs?
- How are positive youth development programs different or new compared to other community-based programs used to provide agricultural and life skills to youth?
Click here to read the transcript of the chat!