Food Systems Through the Eyes of Young People

• 
  Airfield Estate’s Youth Board have launched their survey ‘Food Systems Through the Eyes of Young People’ and they would like to hear from you!   This youth-led survey for people aged 16-30 aims to understand the perceptions young people have of the Irish food system, where they see their place in it and their hopes for the future of Irish food.  Our Youth Board welcomes you to complete the survey, which can be found here and share it with other young people in your life, to collect a diverse range of voices from across Ireland and help shape the future of Irish food.   Where did this campaign come from?   At the start of 2023 Airfield Estate’s first ever Youth Board was established.  Made up of 12 young people from across Ireland, the Youth Board was formed to bring the youth voice to Airfields team, while the members are upskilled to become young activists and future leaders.   In late 2023 the Airfield Estate Youth Board got to work selecting a topic they were passionate about for their campaign.  The Board discussed topics such as:

  • • The need for young people to be more connected to where their food comes from
    • The concern about whether there are enough young people entering farming
    • The need for more easily accessible information about our food systems
    • Misinformation and the conflict that can occur between farmers and environmentalists
    • The need for young people in the agri-food sector, as the innovators and the group which most clearly sees the urgency of the climate crisis
    • Our growing urban rural divide in Ireland

    After several brainstorming sessions it was decided that we need to discover what young people do and don’t know about our food system, so that we can help fill these gaps.  From this, the campaign ‘Food Systems Through the Eyes of Young People’ was born.  The first element of the campaign is this survey, which will be followed by an event, for young people to dive deeper into conversations about Ireland’s food system.   The results of this survey and event will be compiled to report on how Ireland’s young people see the food system and our food future.   Stay tuned to find out more as the campaign continues throughout 2023 and beyond!   For more information on this campaign or Airfield Estates Youth Board you can email [email protected]