Youth action for inclusive, climate-resilient urban food systems
Urban Futures works at the intersection of urban food systems, youth wellbeing, and climate action. Operating in intermediary cities in five countries, it supports local partners and especially young people to create more inclusive, climate-resilient cities and urban food systems.
Why food systems need to change now
Our current food systems are not meeting the needs of people or the planet. Food systems are responsible for 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the “triple burden” of nutrition is increasing. At the same time, rapid urbanization will result in 68% of the world’s population living in urban areas by 2050. As cities already consume nearly 80% of all food, urban food systems have a major local and global impact on issues including climate change, youth wellbeing, and economic opportunity.
Cities also offer unique opportunities
Intermediary cities are growing fastest and will host over 400 million new residents in the next 15 years. Local authorities are increasingly taking charge of issues affecting them. For example, we see cities taking the lead on climate action through initiatives like the C40 and Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. And the UN Food Systems Summit showed the importance of urban food systems transformation, the need for building agency and changing narratives, and the central role of young people.
How the program will enable young people to drive change
Urban Futures supports local partners and innovators, especially young people, in collaborations to build more inclusive, climate-resilient urban food systems while voicing their priorities, influencing decisions, and seizing opportunities in the food sector.
We aim to achieve this through multi-stakeholder collaborations and locally-owned innovations. Hivos is the global fund and program manager, complementing and amplifying these local experiences with linking and learning, advocacy, communication, and strategic coherence. RUAF, hosted by Hivos, supports these efforts with technical expertise, research, advocacy, and policy development.
Where
In ten intermediary cities in Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe. Of its over 650,000 inhabitants, more than 60 percent are aged 15 to 25, with 24 percent of people 15 and older unemployed.
Read more
Mutare, in the East of Zimbabwe, is the third most populous city with over 500,000 inhabitants, half of which are urban. Of this urban population, over 50 percent are under 25.
Read more
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe. Of its over 650,000 inhabitants, more than 60 percent are aged 15 to 25, with 24 percent of people 15 and older unemployed.
Read more
Kitwe is located in the Copperbelt Region. It is the second most populous city in Zambia with almost 700,000 inhabitants, of which 65 percent are under 25, and 52 percent under 18.
Read more
Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia with a population of approximately 2.5M. Despite this, its rural heritage is still an integral part of the city's identity, linked to people’s pride in their place of origin and traditions.
Read more
The Cali Metropolitan Area, the third-largest city in Colombia with 2.5 million inhabitants, boasts a diversified and thriving economy.
Read more
MANPANOR (Municipal Association of the Northern Pacific Coast) is located in Ecuador’s Manabí province. It consists of four municipalities with a total population of around 200,000.
Read more
The Chocó Andino Association of Municipalities (MCA) is a coordinating and participatory governance body made up of six rural parishes to the northwest of the capital, Quito.
Read more
Bandung is the capital city of Indonesia’s West Java Province. Out of its population of almost 2.5M people, about one third is between 15 and 34.
Read more
West Manggarai, in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, has a population of over 264,000. Seventeen percent live below the poverty line and a third is between 15 and 34.
Read more
Period and budget
January 2023 to 2027, €19.5 million
Planned activities
An inception phase in 2023 is localizing the program framework and co-creating city strategies with local partners and experts. As this develops and the program becomes more established, you will find further updates here. Activities will focus on three areas:
- Influencing and supporting the development and implementation of transformative urban food policies through multi-stakeholder platforms and youth movements
- Shaping new narratives that reimagine inclusive, climate-resilient cities to inspire behavior change and influence consumption patterns
- Enabling young sustainable food entrepreneurs to flourish and increase financial flows towards inclusive, climate-resilient cities
Partners
The program is managed by Hivos and supported by RUAF Global Partnership on Urban Agriculture and Food Systems and local partners, networks and experts. In Indonesia, Urban Futures is implemented by Hivos partner organization Yayasan Humanis dan Inovasi Sosial.
Donor
About Fondation Botnar
Fondation Botnar is a Swiss philanthropic foundation working to improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in cities around the world. Advocating for the inclusion of youth voices and the equitable use of AI and digital technology, the foundation invests in and supports innovative programs and research, and brings together actors from across sectors to create dialogue and partnerships.
