FAO celebrates World Food Day on October 16

Launch of FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture report on Family Farming; Committee on World Food Security to address responsible investment in agriculture

Every year on World Food Day, 16 October, FAO and its member countries commemorate the founding of FAO in 1945. This year World Food Day will focus on family farming. Please find below a list of the main activities around World Food Day/ World Food Week taking place at FAO headquarters in Rome.

All events are open to the media and will also be webcast live.

Friday, 17 October

10.00h - Signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding between FAO and National Geographic to raise awareness on food and agriculture issues with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and National Geographic Chief Content Officer, Chris Johns and Deputy Creative Director and Future of Food Project Leader Kaitlin Yarnall.

The event also sees the inauguration of an exhibit showcasing National Geographic magazine’s “The Future of Food” series. More information on the FAO-National Geographich partnership can be found here.

15.30h -Official awards presentation for the Short Food Movie Competition will take place at a media event at Teatro Studio G. Borgna - Auditorium Parco della Musica during the Rome Film Festival. Italian Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, Maurizio Martina, Italian Minister of Heritage, Cultural Activity and Tourism, Dario Franceschini and the UN Commissioner for Expo Milano 2015, Eduardo Rojas will speak at the event.

The Short Food Movie initiative is a global open call for videos inspired by the theme for Expo Milano 2015, “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life.” The initiative includes a UN category dedicated to the Zero Hunger Challenge, which calls for videos about any of the five pillars of the Zero Hunger Challenge or the UN focus area for Expo Milano 2015, women’s empowerment and gender equality. More information can be found here.

Sunday, 19 October

10.00h - The 9th edition of Hunger Run, the annual, open to the public race and non-competitive run/ walk, will see registration fees target the poorest of the poor and go towards projects that improve their ability to produce and access food, and that ultimately improve people’s lives. The run is organized by Gruppo Sportivo Bancari Romani on behalf of the FAO, IFAD, WFP, Bioversity International with the collaboration of sponsors and partners.

Learn more about Hunger Run 2014.

http://www.fao.org