The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens (BKMC) is proud to host the 4th edition of the Youth AgriChampions – a Peer2Peer workshop series on climate adaptation in agriculture. The initiative brings together youth grassroot voices from the world of smallholder farming and agricultural entrepreneurship in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, to share their on-the-ground experience with adapting their practices to climate change. During the workshops, the BKMC Youth AgriChampions will develop a youth demand paper to be elevated by BKMC Co-chair and 8th Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, in his advocacy work. This year’s thematic focus will be on locally-led adaptation for smallholder farming.
In the past years, selected Youth AgriChampions joined the BKMC delegation on the ground at the African Food System Forum in Rwanda and COP29 in Azerbaijan to launch the Youth AgriChampions Demand Paper and represent farmers’ voices around the world.
Upon successful completion of the workshop series, participants are awarded certificates signed by Ban Ki-moon himself and become part of our ever-growing BKMC Youth AgriChampions Alumni Network.
The applications for the 2025 cohort are open from 11th until 24th March 2025. Apply by 24 March 2025 at 23:59 CET.
Application criteria:
- Smallholder farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, and youth employed in the agricultural sector who want to share experiences, advocate for smallholder farmers, and work on developing a youth-demand paper for world leaders
- Age 18-35 years
- Citizens/nationals of the following countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia
- Working/worked on a climate adaptation project or have expertise in the topic
- Keen interest in agriculture, climate change, and food systems
This workshop series allows innovative young minds from the grassroots world of smallholder agriculture to interact and express their wishes for solutions and support on the challenges they face with agricultural adaptation to climate change in their respective countries. Over the course of three workshops, the Youth AgriChampions will discuss and develop a set of demands which will be collated in a paper and presented to the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre, Ban Ki-moon, who will use it in his advocacy work.
During the first two workshops, input will be given by experts in agricultural adaptation to inspire the Youth AgriChampions for the development of their demands. These demands will also be used to advocate on behalf of smallholder farmers and smallholder agriculture stakeholders at COP30 to help support agricultural adaptation efforts.
Upon successful completion of the workshop series, participants are invited to attend the online closing ceremony during which they will be awarded certificates signed by Ban Ki-moon himself. Furthermore, five best practice examples of the Youth AgriChampions’ current work on adapting to climate change will also be showcased on the Ban Ki-moon Centre’s platforms.
The workshop series is hosted and created by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, under the framework of the Elevating Agricultural Adaptation program. Find the workshop series dates below. 100% participation in the workshops is required.
- Workshop 1: 14th May, 16:30 – 18:30 CEST
- Workshop 2: 21st May, 16:30 – 18:30 CEST
- Workshop 3: 28th May, 16:30 – 18:30 CEST
- Closing Ceremony: 10th July, 16:30 – 18:30 CEST