About YPARD
YPARD
Young Professionals’ Platform for Agricultural Research for Development
Communiqué Official launch of YPARD in New Delhi  With acclaim from over a hundred representatives of ARD institutions around the world, YPARD was officially launched during a side-event of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) Triennial Conference on November 8th 2006 in the NASC Complex in New Delhi. After a year and a half of preparation and consultation, the success of YPARD`s launch underlined the need for and the expectations of such a platform. The opening statements by Dr. Olanrewaju Smith, Executive Secretary of GFAR, and Prof. Lennart Prage, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), gave heartfelt testimonies and deep reflections on the need for young professionals in “growing development”. Young professionals then elucidated the current structure of YPARD, and introduced the webpage where members can register, find resources, and contribute to YPARD’s objectives. The new steering committee and the senior advisory group were presented to the audience, and the two senior speakers symbolically handed the responsibility for taking YPARD forward over to the two committees.
  A colourful and emotional moment was created by filling a commitment tree with wishes and vows made by the participants. This emblematic act demonstrated that YPARD can continue to depend on the participation of all ARD actors, and that the expectations of young professionals will require collaborative efforts in order to be realised.
 The more than 20 YPARD members present continued to contribute to the issues raised by the GFAR conference, addressing the need to reorient ARD to meet the MDGs. In thematic working groups as rapporteurs, and in stakeholder groups representing the voice of young professionals, these members began to bring about part of what YPARD wishes to achieve. This work was honoured during the closing ceremony of the GFAR conference on November 11, when YPARD was given the opportunity to represent the stakeholder group “young professionals”. This platform, so generously offered by the conference organizers, was used to respond to the conclusions of the consultations with a YPARD commitment: “Young people play an important role in facilitating changes. ARD institutions should capitalize on the young to contribute to new agricultural innovation systems”.
 Finally, the Delhi Declaration read by Dr. Adel El Beltagy, GFAR chair, “recognized the important role of both women and youth in the continuum of ARD activities and the need to enhance their future involvement.” This call will further motivate us to move forward, and will help YPARD to fulfil its role in the ARD system.
We are grateful to all individuals, in particular to all the speakers, organisers, and supporting institutions for making this successful event possible. In particular, we are grateful to GFAR, its secretariat, CTA and the SDC for their invaluable support in enabling young professionals to attend the GFAR conference.
Youth for growing development
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