The World Food Day Conference 2015 and Exhibition, commemorating FAO's 70th anniversary were jointly organized by the FAO Representation with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture and the Confederation of the Iranian Food Industry Associations (a UN-registered NGO), held on Saturday 17 October 2015 at Tehran's Islamic Summit Conference Hall in which 1,610 participants registered and took part.

The Conference was attended by the Representatives of UN Agencies in Iran, Ministers and high-level officials from the Ministries of Health and Medical Education and of Jihad-e-Agriculture, as well as the President of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, the President of the Confederation of Iranian Food Industry Associations, a broad number of Ambassadors and delegates from the missions of other member countries, representatives from aid agencies (such as JICA), national and international private sector companies, and civil society and community-based organisations.

Mr. Serge Nakouzi, the FAO Representative to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, President of the Confederation of Iranian Food Industry Associations, Iran's Health Minister, Dr. Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Mr. Mohsen Jalalpour, President of Iran's Chamber of Commerce and Dr. Rassoul Dinarvand, Deputy Minister and Head of the Food and Drug Administration were the key speakers of the event.

In the lead up to the Conference day and throughout the preceding week, a set of activities were organized across 22 provinces within the country through collaboration with Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health, These activities were dedicated to a campaign on awareness-raising on food safety and social protection issues. Each of the activities had a specific focus on such themes as Food Safety and Media, Food Safety and Students, Food Safety and Trans-Organization Relations, Food Safety and Supply of Healthy Food, Food Safety and World Food Day and Food Safety and Food Industries.

The World Food Day Exhibition that was organized in addition on the grounds of the Islamic Summit Hall (the most prestigious and largest meeting hall in Tehran), constituted the first such exhibition being set up on a World Food Day event and its magnitude was unprecedented. The Exhibition covered an area of over 600 sq. meters with over fifty national producers of healthy food, community based organisations and provincial divisions of the Drug and Food Administration in the country displayed their agricultural produce, food products and rural artisanal work. The displays by these entities had been approved and endorsed by the Ministries concerned.

During the Conference deliberations, some key messages were advocated by government officials and the President of the Confederation of Iranian Food Industry Associations and the President of Iran's Chamber of Commerce revolving around this year's WFD theme on 'Social Protection: Breaking the cycle of rural poverty'. The contents of these statements have been amply covered by the national media.

This theme has been chosen in a bid to draw global attention to the role that social protection plays in eradicating hunger and poverty when it is prioritized in national development agendas.

Evidence shows that reliable and regular social protection schemes can help poor communities to overcome financial constraints and manage risks that usually discourage them from pursuing higher returns. When implemented on a large scale, social protection systems can also contribute to an overall reduction of the poverty gap, empowering families and communities.

Despite the successful expansion of social protection programmes worldwide, basic social protection coverage remains a privilege that only a small percentage of the world population can benefit from. Nevertheless, experiences show that the extension of social protection programmes in many countries has come at relatively low cost.

In November 1979 the 20th session of the FAO Conference adopted Resolution 1/79 inviting FAO member countries to observe World Food Day (WFD) every year on 16 October.
This was followed by Resolution 35/70 during the United Nations General Assembly in December 1980, which urged governments and national, regional and international organizations to contribute to the greatest possible extent to the effective commemoration of World Food Day.

Since the very first observance, World Food Day has cast a light onto the problems faced by rural communities as well as ways in which we can pave a sustainable path towards food security and development for all.

To read the statement of the Mr. Serge Nakouzi, the FAO Representative to Iran please click here.

To see the photos of the World Food Day Conference 2015 and Exhibition in Iran please click here.