Virtual World Food Forum Closing Celebrations, 5th October 2021.
Photo: ©FAO

World Food Forum

Youth leaders took centre stage in the fight to feed the world by raising awareness, inspiring action and identifying solutions at the World Food Forum.

Conceived by the Youth Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and jointly organised with the youth networks at the other Rome-based UN agencies based in Rome/Italy, the World Food Forum brought together youth from a broad range of backgrounds and expertise with the aim of spurring action to help transform agri-food systems and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2 ("No hunger"), SDG 1 ("No poverty") and SDG 10 ("lower inequality") from 1-5 October 2021.

The gathering was the culmination of more than a year of work with more than 25 events, roundtables and youth consultations that put young people at the heart of the decision-making process.

Thousands of young people from across the globe followed five days of virtual debates, innovation, science and cultural celebrations in Rome. Rallying under the slogan "Nothing about us without us," youth leaders called for food to be considered a public good and a basic human right. And with the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow/UK just around the corner, they also urged politicians to work together to make agri-food systems more sustainable.

Online decision-making platform 


During the event, the new online decision-making platform "Change the Game, Change the Future" was introduced. It was jointly developed by FAO and The Lexicon, a North America-based non-profit organisation whose "Green Brown Blue accelerator" mobilises experts and builds tools to tackle challenges facing food systems.

In the quest to transform global agri-food systems, reducing food loss and waste seems like a straightforward way to fight hunger, increase access to healthy diets and protect the environment. But the reality is more complicated; solving one problem may unintentionally lead to unexpected consequences somewhere else. The new game platform will help young people and policymakers alike learn the role which data can play in addressing these tradeoffs and choose the most effective policies, according to FAO. The online game platform mixes real-time data from over 190 countries with interactive animations that depict local cultures across the globe.

"Change the Game, Change the Future" will be available for free on the WFF website and as a free iOS and Android app in November 2021, with additional titles in the series planned for 2022.

Youth Action Assembly


Ahead of World Food Day on October 16th, the final day of the Forum also featured Junior World Food Day, a special event celebrating food heroes of all ages in the fields of farming, food, innovation, science, sports and the arts.

The event ended with a Youth Action Assembly, which was tasked with coming up with practical advice to governments and key stakeholders. The Youth Action Compendium is a plan of action for initiating youth-led agri-food systems transformation.

(FAO/ile)

Read more on the World Food Forum at FAO website  

Visit the World Food Forum website

Read more on the online platform "Change the Game, Change the Future" at FAO website

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