1. Consultative Workshop
“Using ICT to strengthen youth opportunities
in agriculture and rural areas”
Concept Note (Draft)
Johannesburg, South Africa, 20th May 2012
In May 2010, CTA, in partnership with the organizations FARA, Yam-Pukri, CAFAN, AYF,
ANAFE and SPC/PAFPNET1, has launched the ARDYIS project, which aims at raising
awareness of the opportunities for youth in agricultural and rural development and to build
capacities in ICTs in these areas. On the occasion of the second anniversary of the project and
of the organization of the Prize Giving ceremony of its YoBloCo2 Awards, a full day Consultative
Workshop is organized on ARDYIS activities3. This workshop will take place on May 20th as
pre-event to 2012 Conference of the African Chapter of the International Association of
Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD) (Johannesburg, 21 - 23 May 2012).
1
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and
Natural Resources Education (ANAFE), Pacific Agriculture and Forestry Policy Network (PAFPNet),
Caribbean farmers’ Network (CAFAN), Yam-Pukri association, African Youth Foundation (AYF).
2
Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition
3
The other activities planned: Presentation of a paper on “Blogging to enhance agriculture: results and
findings of the YoBloCo Awards on 22 May during the IAALD conference sessions; (2) Prize Giving
ceremony of the YoBloCo Awards to be held as an official IAALD Africa 2012 event on 22 May 2012
nd rd
during the Conference Dinner; (3) 2 meeting of the Advisory Committee of ARDYIS project (23 May,
closed meeting).
1

2. 1. Objectives of the consultative workshop
The objectives of the meeting are:
1. To exchange on the organization, results and perspectives of the YoBloCo Awards;
2. To share experiences on strengthening youth opportunities in Agriculture and ICTs;
3. To identify collaboration opportunities with the ARDYIS project and on issues relating to
youth involvement in ICT and agriculture.
2. Participants
About 30 participants will be taking part in the workshop. These include young bloggers from
ACP countries (winners and runner-ups of YoBloCo Awards, from the individual or institutional
category), ARDYIS Project’s Advisory Committee members, representatives of CTA and of
other organizations interested in youth, ICT and agriculture.
The participants are nationals of the following ACP and EU countries:
Barbados (Caribbean), Belgium (EU), Benin (West Africa), Burkina Faso (West Africa),
Cameroon (Central Africa), DR Congo (Central Africa), Fiji (Pacific), Ghana (West Africa), Italy
(EU), Kenya (East Africa), Madagascar (East Africa), Mauritius (East Africa), South Africa
(Southern Africa), Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean), Uganda (East Africa), United Kingdom
(EU) and Zimbabwe (Southern Africa).
Apart from ARDYIS Advisory Committee members’ institutions, organizations present include:
Organization of the African Youth (OAY), FAO, SangoNet, International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI), GIC Bellomar, Agribusiness Society of the University of West Indies, Farming
and Technology for Africa (FTA), Shiriki Organization, Conseil Régional des Riziculteurs du
Mono et du Couffo, Savannah Young Farmers Network (SYFN).
3. Expected results
 Recommendations on the organization of upcoming edition(s) of the YoBloCo Awards;
 Shared lessons and best practices in using ICT to enhance youth opportunities in
agriculture;
 Better understanding of ARDYIS project framework by participants;
 Concrete collaborative project ideas aiming at strengthening youth opportunities in
agriculture, rural areas and ICTs;
 Stronger networking with current and perspective partners.
4. Structure of the workshop
The workshop will start with the opening remarks by key organizers, and will be structured in the
following five sessions:
I. YoBloCo Awards: presentation of selected blogs;
2

3. II. YoBloCo Awards: organization and perspectives;
III. Presentation of ARDYIS Project’s activities (2010 - 2012);
IV. Partner experiences on projects relating to youth involvement in ICT and agriculture;
V. Group discussions: identification of potential project ideas.
The content of each session is presented in the sections below. The workshop agenda gives
more specifications on presentations and sessions’ animation.
4.1. YoBloCo Awards: presentation of selected blogs
During this session, three winners of the YoBloCo Awards will be invited to present their blogs.
Opportunities and challenges from individual and institutional point of view will emerge from the
presentations.
These presentations will be followed by an open discussion on bloggers’ experiences and on
issues related to blogging on agriculture in ACP countries.
4.2. YoBloCo Awards: organization and perspectives
In this session, a presentation on how the YoBloCo Awards was organized will be given. This
will cover the choices that have been made by organizers, what issues emerged during the
activities and what has been the public response to the blog contest. Some initial impacts of the
YoBloCo Awards will be also discussed.
An open discussion with participants will follow. It will particularly aim at receiving comments,
suggestions and proposals on how to organize and improve the next edition(s) of the YoBloCo
Awards.
4.3. Presentation of ARDYIS Project’s activities (2010 - 2012)
In this session, the activities undertaken in the framework of the ARDYIS project will be
presented and reviewed, from its inception to present.
The role of the Advisory Committee will also be presented by one of its representatives. The
presentation will cover the involvement of partner organizations in project’s activities.
The session will end with an open discussion aiming at better understanding ARDYIS activities
and framework of actions.
3

4. 4.4. Partner experiences on projects relating to youth involvement in ICT and
agriculture
This session will consist of three presentations, followed by an open discussion. The
presentations will be held by representatives of key organizations that have specific projects or
activities focused on the use of ICT to support young farmers and create new opportunities for
youth in agriculture.
Presentations and discussions will cover experiences and case studies from different ACP
regions, tools and methodologies, such as mobile applications, development of youth networks
and other platforms.
4.5. Group discussions: identification of potential project ideas
This session aims at identifying concrete potential project ideas for future collaborative initiatives
that might be further developed and carried out or supported by the ARDYIS project or by
partners present.
Participants will gather in 4 smaller groups. Each group will be composed of 5 to 7 participants.
In the first part of the session, two groups will reflect on “Improving opportunities for youth in
agriculture using ICT”, while the other two groups will deal with “Improving livelihoods and
opportunities for youth in rural areas with ICT”.
The second part of the session will consist of the presentation of the ideas emerged during the
group discussions. The representatives of each group, in turn, will present their proposals and
will receive the feedback of the other participants.
The workshop will end with closing remarks, that will highlight its main conclusions.
4