Having long heard about YPARD, I felt the need to join them during at their participatory discussion. "Young Professional for Agricultural Research and Development", well known as YPARD, organized an interactive workshop this Monday morning on the theme "Mission 2026: acting now to support youth in agriculture". They posed a most important challenge: when looking back, what actions will the youth of tomorrow wish today´s environment-custodians had taken in order to improve the agricultural sector of 2026 and their place on it?

Not surprisingly, the workshop attracted more than 35 attendants from different countries. Participants shared their aspirations which have driven them into the sector of agriculture. Some were passion and family driven, economic diversification, food security in their countries and, of course, science in this changing world influenced by issues like population growth and climate change. It was a great platform for the youth to share their challenges, insights and aims for their future roles in agricultural development. The interactive discussion explored the following questions: What role today´s young professionals are playing to realize their common vision? What skills and competencies are most valued in current agricultural development practice? What could be done to prepare young professionals to work towards the future they want?

YPARD do not merely fight for making young people employable; they also challenge the youth to realize their visions and come up with strategies in order to be engageable in innovative and sustainable agriculture-related activities. It has been such a lively discussion with young people sharing ideas and a wonderful networking set-up. The session has been organized by YPARD along with International Association of students in Agricultural and related Sciences (IAAS).