Wednesday 14 October 2015

World Food Day 2015, October 17.

世界糧食日,10月17日.
 Всемирный день продовольствия, 17 октября.
World Food Day, 17 October.
Día Mundial de la Alimentación, 17 de octubre.
 Journée mondiale de l'alimentation, le 17 Octobre.
 وم الأغذية العالمي، 17 تشرين الأول.
 


The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015

Global Food Security Index 2015- The Economist



 In recent years, around 150 million people have overcome extreme poverty thanks to social protection programmes.Through cash transfers, vouchers, insurances and in-kind contributions, social protection programmes enhance the incomes of poor and vulnerable people. But how does this work?


The 2015 World Food Day theme is
Social Protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty

The official celebration of World Food Day this year at Expo Milano 2015 is promising to be one of the World Exposition’s biggest events.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Director-General of FAO will be joined by the President of the Republic of Italy and the Italian Ministers for Agriculture and Foreign Affairs for the opening ceremony.
Falling in an opportune moment, just after the Summit in September 2015 and before the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COPI), World Food Day will be a unique opportunity to send a strong message to young people – the Zero Hunger Generation – on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to engage them in the challenge of sustainably eradicating hunger and poverty over the next 15 years.
The official ceremony will commemorate FAO’s 70th Anniversary and address the theme for World Food Day 2015, “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”, and how this links with the UN theme for Expo 2015, “The Zero Hunger Challenge · United for a sustainable world”. Representatives of FAO member countries, Expo country commissioners, representatives of the Italian Government and other partners have been invited to this high-level event.
Highlights of the ceremony will include the official presentation of the Milan Charter to the UN Secretary-General, a manifesto that engages all citizens in the fight against undernourishment, malnutrition and waste, while promoting equal access to natural resources and sustainability. The Urban Food Policy Pact, where Mayors worldwide commit to coordinating international food policies, is another important legacy document that will be presented. In addition to the keynote speakers, the Heads of IFAD and WFP will deliver statements during the ceremony and a few words will be heard from Pope Francis.

Other World Food Day events on 16 October, with the participation of the UN Secretary-General and FAO Director-General, include “Zero Hunger Generation”, an interactive question and answer session with students exploring the crucial role that young people will play in achieving the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and “Finance for Food”, organised by the Italian Ministry of Economy and IFAD. 




Events of the week (October 12-18, 2015)



October 13: “The future of global food security”: “What can a better understanding of risk do to ensure future global food security?” - A panel discussion around this question, hosted by the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir Mark Walport, and organized by he UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN) will be held on Tuesday 13th October 2015 at 2.30 pm at the Biodiversity park of Expo Milano 2015. In the spirit of the theme of this year’s Expo: “Feeding the Planet”, the panel will consider how societal, cultural and political perceptions of risk shape our potential to attain future global food security.
Adolfo Brizzi, Associate Vice-President a.i., IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) will be part of the panel, together with  other international experts in risk, innovation and food security including Professor Sir Mark Walport, UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser; Professor Tim Benton, UK Global Food Security Champion, University of Leeds; Professor Mario Calderini, Chief Adviser for Innovation, Italian Ministry of Research and Mr David Wilkinson, Director of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and EU Commissioner General for Expo 2015.

October 13: A Meeting of female Parliamentarians, co-hosted by the Women in Parliaments Global Forum (WIP) together with the Italian Senate and the Italian Chamber of Deputies, will be held at the Expo Centre on 13 October. The meeting will focus on topics such as ‘Women in agriculture and development’, ‘Fight against food waste’ and ‘Nutrition and wealth’, all main topics of Expo Milano 2015. FAO will be represented at this event. More infor available here.

October 14: Conference on women economic empowerment in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, The State of Palestine and Tunisia - Conference organized at Expo Milano 2015 by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); No Peace Without Justice; Women for Expo; and six national MENA business women associations on October 14 in the Expo Media Centre, from 10.30 am to 6 pm.
This conference is an important part of the activities undertaken within UNIDO's project titled “Promoting Women Empowerment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) region”. The aim of this event is to establish a policy dialogue, identify recommendations and share good practices on relevant topics for the development of women entrepreneurship.
The event will bring together representatives of governments and the Women's Business Associations of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the State of Palestine and Tunisia. UNIDO is also working to involve women entrepreneurs, international finance institutions, non-governmental organizations, and representatives of the private sector. Two round tables will be organized, one on policy and legal reforms to promote women empowerment in the MENA region, and another on the importance of national, regional and international networks to enhance women entrepreneurship.” More info available here.

October 14 - 16: Ministerial Meeting on Food Security and Climate Adaptation in Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) at Expo Milano 2015, co-organized by the Government of Italy, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, and Deputy Director-General Maria Helena M.Q. Semedo will participate. Delegates will attend the celebrations of the World Food Day 2015 at Expo Milan on the 16th of October. More info available here.

October 14 - 16: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) second Scientific Conference, with the theme “Shaping the future of food safety, together” will be held at the Congress centre Stella Polare, next to the site of Expo Milano 2015. Dr Angelika Tritscher of the World Health Organization, will chair the session on “Open Risk Assessment: Data”, in the morning of October 15 while Dr Gina Kennedy, Bioversity International, will discuss “Using agro-biodiversity for healthier diets within sustainable food systems” in the parallel session on “Nutrition challenges ahead”. Dr Katinka de Balogh, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Rome, will participate as a rapporteur in the session “Drivers for emerging issues in animal and plant health” in the morning of October 16. More info available here.

October 15: Kapuscinski Development Lecture on Financing for Rural Development will be held at the University Politecnico of Milan (Aula BL 27.03, Via Lambruschini 4), at 4.30 pm. “As the gap between rural and urban continues to grow, are there safeguards we can put in place to promote equal opportunities for children, women and men everywhere? The president of IFAD Kanayo F. Nawanze will present his argument for rural development.
The series “Kapuscinski Development lectures”, named after Ryszard Kapuscinski, a Polish reporter and writer who covered developing countries, is organized jointly by the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and partner universities and development think-tanks. Since 2009, over 60 lectures gathered over 20,000 participants.” More info available here. To watch live the confererece, click here.

October 15: "Seeds, the solution to current and future food challenges" - International conference organized by the French national inter-professional group on seeds (GNIS) with the support of the French Pavilion and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).  The conference will be held at the French Pavilion from 10 am to 5 pm. William Murray, Deputy Director of the Plant Production and Protection Division of FAO will deliver an opening speech and Samuel Kugbei, Seed Policy Specialist of the same division will present the “FAO Guide on seed policies” and participate in the panel debate “The role of seeds in food safety”. For more info, download the concept note and the programme.

October 15: Signing Ceremony of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact: The Urban Food Policy Pact is expected to be one of the most important legacies of Expo 2015. Milan is advocating an international protocol, engaging the largest number of world cities for the development of food systems, based on the principles of sustainability and social justice. This commitment for the coordination of international food policies will be subscribed by mayors from all over the world on the occasion of a major event during our Universal Exposition.

On October 15, mayors from attending cities will take part in a Mayors Summit at the Royal Palace of Milan and will each deliver key statements on the topics of urban food systems and the Urban Food Policy Pact process. The debate will be followed by the official signing ceremony of the Pact at the presence of the highest international representatives and the press.”  The Director-General of FAO José Graziano da Silva will deliver a key-note speech. Bioversity International has actively contributed to drafting the Pact and the Director General, M. Ann Tutwiler is a member of the Advisory Board of the initiative.
On October 16, the mayors will attend the official ceremony for the World Food Day at Expo Milano 2015, where they will present the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.For more info, visit the UFPP official website.

October 15: "Human rights, right to food and land rights: What's missing?” - Roundtable panelis organized by the European Parliament’s Committee for Development at the EU Pavilion from 4 pm. Javier Molina, Senior Land Tenure Officer of the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, FAO, will give a presentation on “The State of Food Insecurity and the land nexus”.

October 15: Fight Food Waste, Feed the Planet", public conference organized by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety will be held from 10.45 am. Eugenia Serova, Director of the Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division of FAO, will deliver a key-note speech, while James Lomax, Food and Agriculture Programme Officer of UNEP, will participate in the session “Institutional perspectives”. The conference “aims to contribute to the setting of EU and global directions for food waste prevention, focusing in particular on the importance of effective inter-sector co-operation from farm to fork. The conference will gather EU and international policy makers as well as all stakeholders involved in the food chain – from industry to non-governmental organizations, the scientific community and consumers – in order to share achievements to date and foster an open and action-oriented debate.” Programme of the conference available here.

October 15: Enhancing the role of women in the agro-food security industry in Ethiopia - Conference organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at “ME and WE – Women for Expo” space (North-West Cardo, 1st floor) in EXPO Milano 2015 starting at 11 am.
Bringing together themes regarding the potential of the agro food sector in Ethiopia and the aim of creating inclusive and sustainable industrial development, the event will debate stories of successful women who could overcome the key obstacles that usually prevent them from becoming entrepreneurs. In particular, the issues which will be discussed are access to finance, technology in food security, the lack of policy guidelines to reduce gender inequality in the private sector, the poor data collection of local enterprises, and the lack of skilled staff. These topics are crucial to foster the socio-economic development of the country, create more jobs and contribute to diversification of the economy. Furthermore, it is important to consider that women tend to have a smaller ecological footprint than men because their production and consumption patterns are often more resource-efficient. These matters are of primary importance for the promotion of sustainable development in Ethiopia.

October 15: "Food moves the world" - Concert organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the European Commission, and with the support of FAO, Azione contro la Fame (ACF International) and the Italian-Latin America Institute (IILA). More info available here.

October 15-16: Improving Financial Inclusion for Smallholder Farmers, conference organized by Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore with the support of Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione CRT and IFAD, will be held at the Cariplo Foundation Conference Center in Milan. The conference is presented as an important moment of reflection and discussion with international experts on the development of microfinance solutions for smallholder farmers through plenary sessions and parallel workshops. The event is associated to the Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Best Practices International Award.
UN speakers include: Emily Coleman, Project Officer, IFAD;  Beatrice Gerli, Gender and Targeting Specialist, IFAD; Frédéric Ponsot, Remittances and Financial Inclusion Specialist, Financial Facility for Remittances, Policy and Technical Advisory Division, IFAD and  Pranav Prashad, Technical Officer, Impact Insurance Facility, ILO. More info on the speakers available here.  More info available here.

October 16: World Food Day official celebrations at Expo Milano 2015, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which this year celebrates the 70th anniversary of its foundation.  The official ceremony at the Auditorium will  include the participation of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; the President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella; FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva; IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze; WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin; the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni; and the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies Maurizio Martina. 

Side events of the celebrations include: “Finance for Food: Investing in agriculture for a sustainable future”, organized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with the participation of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; the President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella; FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva; IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze; and the Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, Pier Carlo Padoan; and the TV show “Zero Hunger Generation”, by RAI Expo, will see the participation of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva. More information on the World Food Day celebrations at Expo 2015, available here


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World Food Day 2015 Conference.

Theme: Social Protection and Agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty. Co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

 

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