2023 IFSA Job Fair
Event Report
On the 27th of May, 2023, around 120 IFSA members joined the 2023 IFSA Virtual Job Fair. It was the second installment of the event, after the first one in March 2022, where global organizations were invited to present their job and internship opportunities to our members, and speakers Ms. Juliet Achieng (Forest Europe) and Mr. Andre Purret (IUFRO) were invited to lead the plenary sessions. You can watch the 2022 IFSA Job Fair here. This year, the event focused on regional opportunities with the theme “Transcending Regional Boundaries”. We invited 12 organizations from Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and Europe to share their opportunities with the IFSA members.
At the beginning of the program, Isabelle Dela Paz, the current IFSA Internal Councilor and Job Fair coordinator, briefly shared the Job Fair’s history and the event’s overview. She also talked about how the event aligns with the IFSA Strategy of the Job Fair, promoting networking and exchange of experiences, preparing students for employment opportunities, and communicating global opportunities.
Plenary Session: Empowering Young Professionals in the Forestry Sector
For the first plenary session titled “Empowering Young Professionals in the Forestry Sector,” Ms. Elaine Springgay, the Forestry Officer for Agroforestry of FAO and Founder and Chair of the Global Network for Forestry Young Professionals (ForYP) discussed what it is like to become a young professional after being an IFSA member. As the founder of ForYP, she also talked about the possible strategies for IFSA and ForYP to collaborate in the future to help IFSA members (especially job seekers, entry-level employees, and early career professionals) prepare for their professional careers in the forestry sector. Ms. Elaine talked about initiating joint mentorship programs, training and networking opportunities, and workshops to develop IFSA members’ skills as young professionals. In addition to this, IFSA and ForYP can collaborate on further promoting existing youth and career-oriented development programs.
Plenary Session: Networking: A Powerful Tool to Shape Your Career
After the first plenary session, we proceeded with the second plenary session titled “Networking: A Powerful Tool to Shape Your Career” with speakers Ms. Eirini Sakellari from the Youth in Landscapes and IFSA President Agustin Rosello where they shared their experiences on networking in the forestry sector. Both Eirini and Agustin talked about networking platforms (such as LinkedIn) being a platform for young professionals to share only their achievements; instead, we should use it as a platform to openly share our struggles also to help other young professionals go through difficulties that they are experiencing in their careers. 
Breakout Room Session
Everyone in the event waited for the highlight of the event, which was the breakout room session. The participating organizations presented in their respective breakout rooms, specifically RECOFTC, PFOlsen, Forest Products Commission, and HVP Plantations in the Asia Pacific Breakout Room; ECN and Bôndy International in the African Breakout Room; CNVP, European Forest Insitute, Forest Stewardship Council and the European Forest Association in the European Breakout Room; and Reforestamos and Maderacre in the Latin American Breakout Room. They briefly talked about the background of their organizations and the current job/internship opportunities they offer.
To watch the main sessions, watch it here. Stay tuned for the breakout room session videos on our official IFSA YouTube Channel!
The event was successful! The participants showed enthusiasm throughout the event, sharing their personal experiences in the chat and honest reactions to the discussions. IFSA has always empowered our members to develop their professional careers. We uphold the implementation of such events to ensure we aid our members in their journey to success.
Author: Isabelle Claire
