The creation of space for dialogue between different actors such as international organizations, governments, the private sector, the academic sector and, particularly, with civil society is of special importance to overcome the challenges of poverty, hunger and malnutrition that Latin American countries face. Furthermore, the establishment of these spaces facilitates an active participation, especially from the civil society organizations; in the design, administration and evaluation of public policies of rural development and food security in the region.

In order to support the monitoring and continuity of the processes of political dialogue and leadership training, the project "Strengthening the Dialogue between FAO, Governments and Civil Society," an initiative of the Brazilian government, together with the regional office of the FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, has been carried out since 2008.

Throughout the seven years of implementation, the project has achieved significant contributions such as:

• Opening the FAO to civil society;
• Strengthening the Specialized Meeting on Family Agriculture (REAF) as a space for political dialogue on family farming;
• Contribution to the establishment of a platform for political dialogue- Alliance for Food Sovereignty;
• Contribution to installing a regional agenda focused on gender policies;
• Greater South-South Cooperation in the region.

The project has focused its actions on the following areas:

Through the Rural Leadership Training Program, more than 330 leaders representing rural organizations in ten countries in the region have received training. The program includes themes such as the right to food, food sovereignty, land management, food security, public policies, and access to production resources, information technology and communication, leadership and negotiation.

Rural youth- Especially connected to the rural youth, the project supports the training of youth who live in rural areas and are linked to a specific Thematic Group of the Specialized Meeting on Family Farming (REAF) within the extended area of Mercosur (including Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador), with arrangements for short courses, graduation and specialization.

This activity focuses on a perspective of building participatory public policies for Food Security and Nutrition and Family Farming, carried out between governments, FAO, members of parliament and civil society, in order to create or follow up on the agendas of public- private work. It also facilitates the involvement of social stakeholders on a political level, including parliamentarians aware of the issue; such as the members of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger. These dialogues enable the exchange of successful and relevant experiences on the subject of food security and family farming, focusing on the perspective of building participatory public policies to support family farming. There are four regions essentially involved: Mercosur, Andean, Central America and Caribbean.

Research and publications to support leadership development processes, social dialogue and administrators of public policies for rural development.