Report: Building cross cutting skills and landscapes knowledge for effective youth leadership

Conferences and committees the world over are recognizing the importance of youth  representation. However, youth participation is still largely limited, particularly in the international arena, to a ‘demand to be heard’. Youth involvement can also often be tokenistic – where young people are given a voice but no decisionmaking power.

 

Youth participation requires a great deal of thought, commitment, time, flexibility, and political will. Some wonder if it is worth the effort. Others think that youth participation is a public-relations gimmick or a passing trend. But when viewed in the broader context of effective and appropriate political and development decisions about sustainable land use, the crucial nature of meaningful youth participation emerges.

 

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), first held in Warsaw, Poland (2013) and then in Lima, Peru (2014) has been a milestone in this respect.