At COP16, young people from rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean presented the Rural Youth Manifesto, proposing a vision for a sustainable future. The event was attended by the Secretary-General of Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paola Vásquez; Italy’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), Claudio Barbaro; the Ambassadors of Italy and the European Union in Colombia, Giancarlo Maria Curcio and Gilles Bertrand, respectively; and other high-level institutional representatives.
The initiative was organized by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the Committee for Rural Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship (MEEJR, by its Spanish acronym), in collaboration with Colombia’s Ministry of Environment, the Governorate of Chocó, and the youth networks YPARD and GYBN.
The Manifesto aims to unify and amplify the voices of young people in rural areas at a critical moment for the planet. Drafted by over 170 young people from Latin America and the Caribbean during the Rural Youth Summit for Peace with Nature, held in August in Nuquí (Chocó, Colombia), the Manifesto was presented in various dialogues between young people and authorities and signed by COP16 President, Minister Susana Muhamad. COP16, with its focus on conserving natural resources, provides an ideal setting for young people to claim a voice in shaping policies that will impact the future of their communities and the planet.
“The manifesto we created in Nuquí synthesizes the need to reclaim traditional and ancestral forms of food production, agroecology as an option, decolonizing agriculture, and the fight for equal access to land ownership between men and women. The problem isn’t a lack of space to produce but rather the concentration of land in the hands of a few within a patriarchal, neoliberal, and landowning structure,” commented Sergio Bustos, youth leader and MEEJR representative.
Key points in the Manifesto emphasize the urgency of climate action through sustainable agricultural policies, strengthening youth participation in public policy formulation, biodiversity protection, and food security through solutions that respect the boundaries of local ecosystems. In this regard, Undersecretary Barbaro stated: “This manifesto represents a strong, collective voice for defending biodiversity, food sovereignty, and human rights, and it aligns perfectly with Italy’s principles of sustainable development cooperation. Supporting this manifesto means not only listening to ideas but ensuring that public policies align with a development model that genuinely integrates youth and local priorities. As Italy, we are obligated not just to encourage youth engagement but to build structures and processes that ensure active youth involvement in environmental governance.”
The event became a call to action, urging governments, organizations, and citizens worldwide to support a rural transformation toward a more sustainable model. Mario Beccia, Director of AICS’s regional office in Bogotá, emphasized: “The participation of rural youth is essential to ensuring a fairer and more equitable future, one that listens to their voices and recognizes their potential as we progress toward a green and biodiverse planet.”
