Youth play a critical role in community forestry and sustainable forest management. They are future leaders, stewards and inheritors of the outcomes of today’s decisions. Although many young people are already actively engaged in forest protection, the efforts of marginalized and under‑resourced youth often remain unseen and unheard.
RECOFTC is organizing a youth camp to address this gap by bringing together youth from diverse backgrounds to take action and amplify youth contributions.
Through the ‘Youth as guardians of the forests’ project, we have been supporting youth in Lao PDR and Cambodia to become advocates against illegal forest activities and wildlife crimes, while promoting the sustainable management of forests. The project’s youth volunteers are currently implementing online and face‑to‑face awareness‑raising campaigns targeting both rural and urban audiences.
The youth camp provides a timely opportunity for reflection, peer learning and the exchange of good practices as campaigns continue to reach rural and urban audiences across both countries. It will enable participants from Cambodia, Lao PDR and youth groups across the region to meet, share experiences from their campaigns and learn from one another.
Through shared learning and targeted capacity building, youth will strengthen their strategies for the final phase of their advocacy work, build lasting networks and align their efforts with RECOFTC’s ‘Youth engagement strategy’ and similar regional initiatives.
Objectives
By the end of the three-day camp, participants will have:
- shared experiences and lessons learned to strengthen and amplify their campaigns
- learned from peers across countries on challenges and innovations in community forestry
- grown in confidence, strengthened leadership skills and built new connections
- sharpened communication and advocacy skills and nurtured creativity
- grounded their advocacies and campaign work with RECOFTC’s ‘Youth engagement strategy’
Participants
The camp will bring together approximately 50 participants, including:
- Youth volunteers from the ‘Youth as guardians of the forest’ project in Cambodia and Lao PDR
- RECOFTC youth staff and local community youth in Cambodia
- Representatives from regional youth networks – including the International Forestry Students’ Association and the Rights and Resources Initiative
- RECOFTC partners, stakeholders and invited speakers – including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and local forestry department officials
Key activities
The three-day camp will combine plenary discussions, interactive group work and peer learning with a field visit to O Poung Roung Community Forest in Kampong Thom province.
Participants will showcase their campaigns, exchange strategies with peers, create advocacy content in the field and sharpen their strategies through leadership exercises.
The camp will close with a Youth Pledge Wall, a collaborative social media action and a certificate presentation ceremony.
Sessions will be facilitated in English, Khmer and Lao.
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The ‘Youth as guardians of the forest’ project aims to create a new generation of forest guardians in Cambodia and Lao PDR. It focuses on enhancing youth awareness about forest conservation, wildlife and forest crimes and sustainable forest management practices. The project is supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through generous funding provided by the Government of Canada.