FAO in Geneva

Geneva embraces the commemorations of the World Food Day 2020 - check our list of events!

10/10/2020

World Food Day 2020  - Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our Actions are our Future. 

World Food Day 2020 celebrated under the theme “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our Actions are our Future will mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is one of the most celebrated days in the UN calendar where events are organized by governments, local authorities and other partners in up to 150 countries, focusing on different aspects of food security and nutrition, and food systems in general.

World Food Day 2020 and FAO’s 75th Anniversary is being marked during a very exceptional time as many countries are dealing with the widespread effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. World Food Day should, as a result, be considered as an opportunity to call for global cooperation and solidarity to make sure that the threats COVID-19 is posing to food security and agricultural livelihoods are confronted and the most vulnerable are able to get back on their feet. It is also an occasion to sensitize the public on how everybody has a role to play in transforming our food systems by changing the way we produce, transform, consume and waste our food

 

16 October - 11:00 to 16:00 - World Food Day Exhibition at the Central hall of the Gare Cornavin (Geneva train station)

The World Food Day Exhibition is organized by the FAO, the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), the Partage Foundation and the Ville de Genève. It will showcase work of the partner organizations in support of the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Efforts made throughout out the year to build better food systems for sustainable food and the fighting against food waste will also be displayed. The Exhibition will feature the presence of personalities from the political, cultural and media sphere to show their support. The exhibition will be an opportunity to sensitize the public on how each one of us has a role to play in transforming our food systems by changing the way we produce, transform, consume and waste our food. Visitors are required to follow the precaution measures and social distancing due to COVID-19.

 

16 October - 15:00 to 16:00 - Participation in the Global Relay Event: Voices of Food Systems 

From 15h40 to 15h50, partners of the World Food Day Geneva Exhibition will participate in the Global Relay Event Voices of Food Systems live event, a 24-Hour Global Relay Conversation by UN Food Systems Summit in partnership with Food Future Institute (FFI). This 24-hour Global Relay Conversation, organized by the UN Food Systems Summit and in partnership with Future Food Institute, will be a highly interactive and relevant discussion for World Food Day, while also acting as the official launch of the Food Systems Summit Dialogues. This marathon online conversation will provide an opportunity for governments, communities and citizens to discuss what matters most to them as we build back better to transform food systems across the world. Read more here.

 

12-16 October  - Forum on Sustainable Food (Different Venues)  

During the week of the World Food Day, the Ville de Genève invites the population of Geneva to take part in the second edition of the forum dedicated to sustainable food. The Forum will take place in several venues in the city. With FAO and Partage as partners, the Forum aims to bring together citizens, farmers, actors and actress of sustainable food and the Geneva population to discuss the content of our plates and our relationship to food. The main theme of the 2020 edition is food waste.  

On Thursday, 15 October FAO will take part in a Public Conference will be held on the theme “18% food waste in Geneva households, what if we would say stop?”. Download the full programme of the Forum on Sustainable Food here.

 

16 October – Lunch Time - “Locally Sourced Food products promoted at the UN” at the UNOG Cafeteria

FAO in partnership with Eldora, will be celebrating the World Food Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) Cafeteria. A special menu made of locally sourced products will be served in support of the Geneva farming community and paying tribute for their important role in advancing better food systems and sustainable food for all.

 

Food Heroes: Partage 

Behind our food, there is always someone who produced, planted, harvested, fished or transported it. This World Food Day, we take the opportunity to thank these #FoodHeroes who, no matter the circumstances, continue to provide food to their communities and beyond - helping to grow, nourish and sustain our world. FAO is pleased to have Partage as one of the Food Heroes. Check out the Partage story “Sharing makes us better” here.

 

Engagement with Schools

 The series of FAO Activity Books has been developed as an educational tool for youth, educators, parents and anyone who wishes to learn more about global issues that have an impact on our future and that of our planet. These books offer young people the chance to engage with a wide variety of topics from nutrition to climate change and migration, and to learn about how they can take action. In the occasion of the commemorations, the World Food Day 2020 Activity Book: Food Heroes was circulated to schools in Geneva. The World Food Day 2020 Activity Book and other communication materials are available in all six UN languages here.

 

16 October – Evening Time - Geneva Jet d'Eau embraces the World Food Day 2020 commemorations

The week-long events to mark the World Food Day will be concluded with the illumination of the Jet d’eau, the symbol of the city of Geneva, in blue in the evening of 16 October. You are kindly invited to enjoy a beautiful view of an open-air exhibition at the heart of Geneva, organized in partnership with the Services Industriels de Genève (SIG).  Geneva Jet d'Eau at the lake Leman

 

Check also the calendar of events for the World Food Day 2020 celebrations in Rome here.