Hoʻōla ʻĀina Youth Food Sovereignty Congress has had multiple past iterations as "Hands Turned To The Soil" in Wai‘anae, "Hōʻeaea" in Keaukaha, "Hoʻōulu ʻĀina" on Kauaʻi, and "ʻĀina Hoʻōla" in Waimānalo, Kahana, and Kalihi. These conferences were powerful in galvanizing practitioners to articulate a vision of food sovereignty and then leverage some of these strategies on all of the islands.
In 2018, the Hoʻōla ʻĀina Youth Food Sovereignty Congress (YFSC) brought together ten delegations over a five-day period to launa (meet with), mālama ʻāina (care for the land), and practice deep listening, learning, and collaboration. Those five days challenged the ʻōpio (youth) and their mākua (adult allies) to think critically about their own work in food systems as well as the larger implications of their work if a collective call to action was made.
In 2018, the Hoʻōla ʻĀina Youth Food Sovereignty Congress (YFSC) brought together ten delegations over a five-day period to launa (meet with), mālama ʻāina (care for the land), and practice deep listening, learning, and collaboration. Those five days challenged the ʻōpio (youth) and their mākua (adult allies) to think critically about their own work in food systems as well as the larger implications of their work if a collective call to action was made.
This work took place through large group circles, individual reflection, facilitated conversations, panel discussions, ʻāina work, and talk story. This event was intended to lift up and empower young, ʻāina based practitioners in Hawaiʻi as well as including other First Nation youth from the continental U.S. and Canada to connect and create a Statement of Intent. The Youth Food Sovereignty Congress was integrated into a national meeting held by the Sustainable Agriculture Education Association (SAEA) Conference.
The Statement of Intent authored by the Youth Food Sovereignty Congress was presented to the larger SAEA conference as a call to action by the youth and moku food communities here in Hawaiʻi and abroad. The intention of the statement was to be a living document or expression that articulates the rights of a peoples to reshape their current food systems and conditions. The purpose of the statement is to clearly state the rights and responsibilities of the ʻōpio as it related to food systems.The statement puts into words the visioning of a world that responds to the needs of the people and the land.
Mahalo to the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Community Based Economic Development (HACBED) for supporting the 2018 Hoʻōla ʻĀina Youth Food Sovereignty Congress (YFSC) and creating the final report excerpted above.