The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on May 31, 2021, will host FOOD FOR ALL: Food conflicts and the future of food systems, its third seminar on food justice taking place taking place under the context of the Special Laudato Si’ Year celebrations.
The year 2021 will be decisive for the Decade of Action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda and will be marked by high-level summits and events to raise awareness and to coordinate and to support initiatives aimed at achieving SDG2: Zero Hunger. Specifically, the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit, which will take place in New York, and which will be preceded by a pre-Summit in Rome between the 26th and 28th of July 2021, will focus on the need “to transform agricultural food systems so that they may become catalysts of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; increasing resilience in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, strengthening local value chains, improving nutrition, educating producers on the re-use and recycling of resources so that food waste may be reduced, supplying healthy diets accessible to all, and being environmentally sustainable and respectful of local cultures”.1 Given that food security and nutrition are intricately linked to the impacts of climate change, the conservation of natural resources, ecosystems and agricultural production, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, has affirmed that the upcoming Summit will focus on giving due recognition to the inextricable link that exists between food security, the climate crisis, and biodiversity.
In light of this global event, the Holy See seeks to offer its contribution through a series of seminars, scheduled throughout the month of May and inspired by the levers of change identified for the Summit; women, finance, human rights, and innovation. These seminars will exchange ideas, testimonies, and the Holy See’s perspective on food justice in the post-Covid recovery.
This final webinar, co-hosted by the Pontifical Academies of Science and of Social Sciences and entitled “Food for All: Food conflicts and the future of food systems”, will explore different responses to food conflicts, and how the Church can best contribute and collaborate to address hunger and food inequality around the world.
1 Cf. Statement of His Excellency, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, at the Workshop on Science and Innovations for a Sustainable Food System Preparing for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, organized by the Scientific Group for the UN Food Systems Summit in cooperation with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, on 21 April 2021.
Invited guests: Permanent Representatives and Members of Diplomatic Missions to the FAO, IFAD, WFP, and the Holy See; international officials; representatives of Catholic Inspired NGOs, of civil society, and the academic world; representatives of farmers and rural women and men; and other stakeholders.
Technical information: It is possible to register for this seminar through the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6K3HNHuJT-26ss0fdn5Dqw
Alternatively, the event will also be livestreamed on Vatican social media and can be accessed through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/VaticanIHD
For more information, please contact [email protected]
Agenda
31 May 2021 – 14.00-16.00 hrs
Moderator: Dr. Matteo Bruni, Director, Holy See Press Office.
Introductory video (2’): Pope Francis – words and images displaying the Pope’s concern for issues regarding food
1. Food in service of life and integral human development (55 minutes)
Interventions:
- Em. Card. Peter Appiah Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (10’)
- Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director General of FAO (10’)
- Stefano Zamagni, President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (10’)
- Fabio Mussi, PIME, Coordinator of Caritas of the Diocese of Yagoua, Cameroon (10’)
Panel discussion (15’)
Break (3’) + VIDEO (2’): The Church’s perspective and work on food
2. Food Conflicts and the future of food systems (60 minutes)
Interventions:
- Agnes Kalibata, UN Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit (10’)
- Joachim von Braun, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (10’)
- Maurizio Pitzolu and Virgina Solis, Economy of Francis (10’)
- Vincenzo Buonomo, Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University (10’) Panel discussion (10’)
Concluding remarks:
H.Em. Card. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State (10’)
