World Food Day in Geneva: FAO and partners advocate for healthy and sustainable diets
Geneva Central Train Station exhibit: a repeat success for FAO and partners
FAO Geneva, the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) and the Partage Foundation (Geneva Food Bank) for the second year, hosted a World Food Day exhibition at Geneva’s central train station of Cornavin for thousands to visit.
Dozens of Geneva VIPs took turns to visit the stand and serve the “Partage soup”, made with unsold donated vegetables. The exhibition brought the 2019 WFD message on healthy sustainable diets to some of the 163 000 people who travel through Geneva’s central station every day, and highlighted FAO’s actions towards sustainable agriculture, nutrition and food waste and loss, which are critical issues for Switzerland. At the end of the day, around 120 litres of soup were served.
Throughout the day, public figures from Geneva including prominent Swiss chefs, journalists, political and media figures, sports celebrities, as well as Jean Ziegler, the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Thomas Wiesel, a famous Swiss humourist, and many other VIPs visited the stand and helped to distribute the Partage soup.
Engaging with the public
FAO Geneva staff engaged with the Swiss public, raising awareness on WFD 2019 theme “our actions are our future – Healthy diets for a #ZEROUNGER world”. WFD promotional materials and publications were distributed to the many visitors, including children of all ages, who showed great interest in the issue and were keen to discuss with FAO staff.
Representatives of FAO Geneva together with FOAG and Partage answered questions from journalists throughout the day and participated in a round table discussion animated by prominent Geneva journalist Serge Guertchakoff, Editor in chief of the Bilan magazine. Partage’s President, Charles Beer; FOAG’s Special Envoy for food security, François Pythoud; and FAO Geneva’s Senior advisor Rodrigue Vinet, participated in the discussion with François Erard, Director of AgriGenève (Geneva Farmers Association); Thierry Apothéloz, State Counsellor (Geneva Canton); and Alia POONAWALA, Programme Lead, Better Diets for Children (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition - GAIN).
Rodrigue Vinet conveyed the WFD message, insisting on the fact that “all — whether governments, the private sector, farmers, international organizations such as FAO and above all individuals — have a role to play to face the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.”
UN partners join in
Partner UN agencies, represented by Ms Meritxell Relaño, Deputy Director, Office of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF and Ms Gordana Jerger, Director of the World Food Programme Geneva Office also participated in the event. After a visit of the WFD stand, they took part in an animated discussion around food security and nutrition issues with FAO Geneva Office Director, Ms Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett.
Ms Rodrigues Birkett pointed out that “all actors in the entire food system have to be involved. Everyone has a role to play in promoting healthy diets”. Ms Jerger mentioned that education is a key factor for healthy diets, since today children are more aware than parents on the need for better and healthy diets. Ms Relaño reinforced this fact and added that “the role of families and communities is essential. Not only should children have access to nutritious food, but mothers need to have the nutritional knowledge to choose the right food”.
World Food Week activities in Geneva
The days preceding and following World Food Day are also an occasion for FAO to raise awareness on the issues related to the chosen theme for the event. This year FAO partnered with, Eldora, the company managing the UN cafeteria in the Palais de Nations to provide healthy menus throughout the week and display WFD messages. More than 1000 persons utilize the cafeteria every day.
The FAO Geneva Office also reached out to young people on this occasion. On 14 October, FAO Geneva Director, Ms Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett and FAO Geneva Focal point for youth, Wirya Khim visited the International School of Geneva and engaged in an interactive session with Year-6 students of the school on healthy diets, including how dietary choices and lifestyles determine people’s impacts on the environment.
Several schools were also invited to the Cornavin event and expressed interest in having FAO host presentations to their students on healthy diets, as well as receive publications and participate in the WFD drawing contest organized by FAO.
A WFD photo exhibition was also displayed for two weeks in the Palais des Nations, showing UN and NGO colleagues, members of diplomatic missions accredited to the United Nations and visitors, that affordable solutions exist to reduce all forms of malnutrition and calling for greater global commitment and action to achieve this.
As is now customary on World Food Day, the Geneva Jet d’Eau, the large trademark fountain in the middle of the lake, was illuminated in blue shortly after dusk and for the whole night to mark this important day.
Links (media coverage and more):
https://www.facebook.com/DirectNewsMR/videos/378122299735785/
http://www.lemanbleu.ch/fr/News/Une-louche-de-soupe-et-d-invendus-pour-le-partage.html
http://www.lemanbleu.ch/fr/News/Precarite-alimentaire-la-Suisse-est-aussi-touchee.html
https://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/lutte-gaspillage-devenir-reflexe-citoyen/story/19964842
https://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/glocale-journee-mondiale-alimentation/story/27620665
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=nTnuEmOTMhM
https://www.facebook.com/CHblw/?pageid=722027814661253&ftentidentifier=1177435135787183&padding=0
https://www.biovision.ch/fr/nouvelles/journee-mondiale-de-lalimentation/