Tackling rural poverty, together

YARD Activities on the EDD 2009

At this year’s high-level Round Table the YARDs will continue their intergenerational dialogue that they started at the EDD in Strasbourg in 2008. At the Round Table, the YARDs will discuss their expectations and visions with:

• Ernest Bai Koroma, Sierra Leone – President
• Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia – President
• Sylvia Mathews Burwell, USA – President, Global Development Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Raila Odinga, Kenya – Prime Minister
• Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe - Prime Minister
• Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh – Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 for his efforts to create economic and social development from below

Greeting

What is life like for young people in rural areas?
Who is giving rural communities a voice and perspectives for the future?

People like the Young Ambassadors for Rural Development (YARD) bring these issues to our attention.

As the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and a representative of the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, I am pleased to see rural development back on the international agenda. Agriculture and rural areas have a crucial role to play in addressing today’s challenges, such as adapting or even mitigating the effects of climate change and alleviating global food crises. With half of the world’s population living in cities, and an ever growing number of young people leaving their rural homes, national and international politics have to pay closer attention to the concerns of those living in rural areas. The YARDs remind us that the development of rural areas presupposes well-functioning states, good governance, local political participation and well-developed infrastructure.

I thank the Young Ambassadors for bringing such important issues on the agenda of the European Development Days. I wish them success in their endeavours for a better future.

Gunilla CARLSSON | Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation