Engaging academia to end hunger and poverty

FAO and the John Cabot University agree on “Communicating to Inspire Change: Food Security and Sustainability” a summer short course in July 2015 designed to provide University students with a solid and broad background on food security and sustainability so that they may have the key informational foundations to develop methods and tools for “Communicating to Inspire Change.”   The course will be in English.

During the second half of 2014, the Office for Corporate Communications in collaboration with the Office for Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development (OPC), FAO, established linkages with a number of Universities worldwide, especially prior to the International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) held in November, at the headquarters of FAO in conjunction with the World Health Organization. The intention: to broaden partnerships with Universities worldwide to align higher education to further achievement of food security for all and ensure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

Among these Universities, the John Cabot University (JCU) in Rome recently signed a Letter of Intent with FAO to establish a summer course in 2015 to provide an empirical overview of world hunger, teaching students how to communicate such issues especially in an age of plenty. During the course, international post-graduate students and young professionals will interact with communicators, academics, and practitioners in a stimulating learning environment, where traditional lectures are complemented by group works, case studies, role-plays and discussion of real scenarios.

The course titled  ‘Communicating to Inspire Change: harnessing the bounties of the earth for Peace - food security, nutrition and global development’  will take place at the Rome campus of JCU with roundtable discussions, dynamic case studies, and practical exercises. The course offers an opportunity to students to deepen their understanding of how to strategically communicate the information covered in the course. Good and bad practices will also be examined with a view to strengthen the capacity of the participants to become active actors of change.

JCU is an American University in Rome with 1000-1200 students from over 60 countries as well as visiting students from over 130 universities across the United States.  This diverse student body provides a unique environment in which to undertake educational initiatives that can raise awareness of the issue of world hunger by communicating for a greater understanding by young students. The students are leaders of tomorrow, the policy and the decision makers who must learn how to communicate what is required to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

By collaborating with FAO, JCU would be in a position to strengthen its programs of lectures and activities by taking full advantage of the knowledge and public information offered by FAO. The knowledge transfer of FAO public information and intellectual resources to the educational activities advocated by JCU would expand communication and understanding of the vital issue of world hunger.