News
Announcing the 2026 Startup Innovation Awards semi-finalists
28/05/2026
Meet the 2026 semi-finalists of the WFF Startup Innovation Awards, powered by MassChallenge Switzerland - a global competition that supports and showcases young innovators and entrepreneurs leveraging technology to accelerate the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems and advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
MassChallenge Switzerland & UK Hubs Announce their 2026 Early-Stage Accelerator Finalists
03/06/2026
MassChallenge Switzerland and MassChallenge United Kingdom, part of the global MassChallenge network, proudly announce the 193 early-stage startups selected for their 2026 accelerator programme.
WFF Youth Initiative celebrates one year of collaboration with Penn State University
27/05/2026
During a recent visit to Penn State University, FAO and one of North America's leading academic institutions came together to celebrate a year of collaboration under the World Food Forum (WFF) Youth Initiative.
Young changemakers drive agrifood systems innovation: Meet the 2025 Youth Food Lab winners
17/11/2025
The World Food Forum (WFF)’s Global Youth Action Initiative (Youth Initiative) celebrated the 2025 Youth Food Lab (YFL) cohort, at the YFL Global finals, held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 16 October 2025, during the WFF flagship event.
Meet the 2025 WFF Startup Innovation Awards winners
07/11/2025
Young innovators from all around the globe took center stage at the 2025 World Food Forum (WFF) Startup Innovation Awards finals. The fifth edition of the annual competition reached a successful conclusion with a live pitch session at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters on 15 October 2025, as part of the 2025 WFF flagship event.
Young researchers awarded at the 2025 WFF Transformative Research Challenge finals
28/10/2025
The fifth edition of the World Food Forum (WFF) Transformative Research Challenge (TRC) concluded at the 2025 WFF flagship event on 14 October at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy.
Meet the 2025 Startup Innovation Awards finalists
28/07/2025
The World Food Forum (WFF) Global Youth Action Initiative’s Startup Innovation Awards (SIA), powered by Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), is a global competition that supports and showcases young innovators and entrepreneurs using technology to accelerate the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Youth Food Lab Nepal launches Agrifood Incubation Programme
23/07/2025
On 4 July 2025, the Youth Food Lab (YFL) Nepal officially launched its 2025 Agrifood Incubation Programme with a virtual kick-off session. Part of the World Food Forum (WFF) global YFL network, the YFL Nepal is a locally led initiative designed to respond to national needs and drive homegrown solutions.
Announcing the 2025 Startup Innovation Awards Semi-Finalists
03/07/2025
The World Food Forum (WFF) Global Youth Action Initiative’s Startup Innovation Awards (SIA), powered by Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), is a global competition that supports and showcases young innovators and entrepreneurs using technology to accelerate the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Meet the 2024 Startup Innovation Awards winners
28/10/2024
The fourth annual global World Food Forum Startup Innovation Awards competition reached its conclusion with the live finals pitch session, hosted at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations headquarters, as part of the 2024 WFF flagship event.
Youth Food Lab North America: WFF and Penn State University join efforts to advance youth-led innovation
06/06/2025
FAO and Penn State University have signed a cooperation agreement which will enhance their collaboration on establishing Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State to support young innovators.
Youth-led innovation: Empowering the next generation of agrifood innovators
30/05/2025
On 6 May 2025, the World Food Forum (WFF)’s Global Youth Action Initiative (Youth Initiative) participated in the 10th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum) at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York.
WFF Youth Food Lab Global Incubator Programme launches its third cohort
09/05/2025
The World Food Forum (WFF) Youth Food Lab (YFL) Global Incubator Programme has launched its third cohort. After two successful years of supporting young innovators, this year's YFL will work with 11 dynamic teams to address critical agrifood systems challenges. The programme began in March, providing a platform for impactful solutions.
Launching a new visual language for food! Join a global initiative to create a shared visual language to describe our food systems
05/08/2021
The global pandemic has highlighted the need for worldwide coordination on food security, equity, and transparency, and has also demonstrated that our current food systems do not effectively communicate with one another.
The World Food Forum highlights the essential role of young scientists at the STI Forum
05/05/2022
On 4 May, the World Food Forum (WFF) hosted an event during the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), to highlight the essential role of young scientists in identifying and scaling up innovative solutions
UN System Staff College Hosts Innovation Toolkit Webinar to Foster Innovation
04/05/2022
On 28 April, the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) in collaboration with the World Food Forum (WFF), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Accenture Interactive hosted a webinar to upg
Transformative Research Challenge Young Scientific Roundtable
28/04/2022
On 27 April, the annual Young Scientific Roundtable was organized by the WFF’s Transformative Research Challenge (TRC) team, in partnership with FAO, CGIAR and the Agrifood 5 Alliance to stress the importance of young researchers in transforming our agrif
Africa francophone workshop on the importance of young farmers in the transformation of agrifood systems
09/03/2022
This Francophone workshop was organized by the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie (MRIF) and the Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec (LOJIQ) of the Government of Quebec. The event addressed common issues for the next ge
The World Food Forum Joins I4Nature to Foster a More Sustainable Dairy Sector at Youth World Milk Day Event
05/07/2022
The World Food Forum (WFF) partnered with I4NATURE to promote Youth World Milk Day with an online event that brought together young dairy farmers, dairy experts, students and activists to discuss paths forward to create a sustainable future for the dairy industry.