Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Organized by CFS in collaboration with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa at the MENA Agri-Food Innovation Days at Expo Dubai, the high level event will:

• Raise awareness about the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition (VGFSN) and mobilize policy and political commitments by governments, donors, civil society, private sector, and others for further promotion and implementation of the VGFSN and other flagship CFS policy guidelines, especially within national food system transition pathways linked to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
• Showcase UAE’s global and regional leadership on sustainable food systems including championing the utilization of CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition.

The event will take place on 24 February 2022, 12:30 - 14:00 GST / 9:30 - 11:00 CET

                                                                     Register here.

Speakers:

• H.E. Gabriel Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, Chairperson, CFS
• H.E. Mariam Al Mehairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates
• Dr Jessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy and Ethics
• Dr Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Hon. Bwino Fred Kyakulaga, Minister of State for Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda
• Ambassador Pio Wennubst, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to United Nations Organizations in Rome
• Ms Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan
• Dr AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Dr Martien van Nieuwkoop, Global Director Agriculture and Food Global Practice, The World Bank
• Dr Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President and former Special Envoy for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit

For more information, visit the CFS webpage or watch the livestream on the CFS YouTube channel.

Professionals working in food and nutrition policy and institutional environment need to understand the major nutrition problems and their consequences on human, social and economic development. In addition, they have to possess competencies to design, implement, monitor and evaluate policies and programmes, adopting a holistic and integrated approach. They should be able to apply “systems thinking” in support of equitable, integrated, sustainable food systems and healthy diets. 

This MOOC covers the interlinkages between food, nutrition, and agri-food systems, and the importance of adopting a multisectoral and multidisciplinary approach for promoting healthy diets and nutrition through food systems. It offers collaborative activities such as live webinars, video recordings of experts’ contributions, publications and other relevant learning materials including links to other relevant self-paced e-learning courses.

At the end of each week of learning, participants will be offered to pass a graded test. Only students who participate actively and pass all weekly tests will be granted the final certificate, that attests the acquisition of competencies related to the MOOC.

Structure of the MOOC

Target audience

This MOOC is especially relevant for decision makers, policy makers, policy advisors  and formulators, investment planners, project managers involved in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of agri-food system policies and programmes for healthy diets and improved nutrition.

The course is also aimed at professionals and students  in the areas of food systems, nutrition, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, who are also interested in obtaining the FAO Certificate for “Nutrition and Food Systems”.

Learning objectives

At the end of this MOOC, you will be able to:

• Explain how food systems shape peoples’ diets, and affect their nutritional and health status and the socio-economic development of countries;
• Describe the linkages and impact pathways between agri-food systems, food and nutrition;
• Advocate for a multisectoral and multidisciplinary food-systems approach for promoting healthy diets and addressing malnutrition;
• Contribute to the design of actions and programmes drawing on lessons learned from different countries and contexts. 

How to attend

The MOOC is free and open to everyone, provided you have the link to the platform.

To join the MOOC, kindly register here.

Each module is unlocked on a certain date, and all resources will remain available until the last day of the course. On average, participants will spend about 5 hours working on the MOOC each week.

Registrations by interested applicants must be submitted by 12 September 2021.

Registered participants will receive the credentials to access the course no later than 15 September 2021.

Watch the teaser here.

Knowledge is at the core of FAO’s mandate.

Ahead of the Food Systems Summit, join the Publications team to find out more about where to find FAO publications, the different formats available, how you can re-use the material, how to sign up for the latest releases, and more. Each of the five sessions in the series links to one of the Food Systems Summit Action Tracks.

Last on the agenda: Wednesday 22 September at 2 pm (Rome time) – "Knowledge session on Action Area: Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress".

This session will focus on resources around emergencies, resilience and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please register here. More information on FAO resources can be found here. 

If you missed the previous webinars, check out our resources related to the other Action Areas, including “Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all”, “Shift to sustainable consumption patterns”, “Boost nature-positive production”, and “Advance equitable livelihoods, decent work, & empowered communities”.