The 2024 meeting of the Global-Hub at FAO: a unique think tank advances on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems

Rome – “The Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems has deep roots in Indigenous Peoples’ cosmogonies. It is a space where their rights and food and knowledge systems are meaningfully recognized. You don’t see this that often across the UN. The Global-Hub is a valuable and unique environment for Indigenous Peoples. It is a space where they feel comfortable, where they feel respected and where they can participate effectively to reach concrete goals”.

These words from Professor Valmaine Toki, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), provided a warm yet precise snapshot of what took place in FAO Headquarters from the 14th to 18th of October 2024 at the second in-person meeting of the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems. It was a week of knowledge and experience sharing, insightful discussions, emotional communication and strong policy recommendations. It was the encounter of two worlds – Indigenous and non-Indigenous - working together to set the basis for a better future.

The Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems is an innovative thinktank that pioneers new ways to create knowledge. Gathering Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts, it gives the same level of respect to academic and Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge. The latter is often disregarded by the scientific community and by policy makers, but it enshrines the game-changing solutions that the world needs.

The 2024 meeting of the Global-Hub brought together 53 Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts from 14 Universities, research centres and institutes, 13 Indigenous-led organizations and networks from across the world. Almost half of the experts were Indigenous experts.

“The Global-Hub works as a connector, and it is really important. It brings together people from Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, Indigenous Youth, the best voices of Indigenous and non-Indigenous academia and works to take their messages to policy makers. This connecting role is critical if we want to make progress on Indigenous Peoples’ issues”, said Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Cambridge, UK.

The issue of making Indigenous Peoples heard by policy makers was central in the discussions of the October meeting. Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge has game-changing potential for the sustainable transformation of food systems, but is often disregarded at decision-making tables. This could result in a big, missed opportunities for the planet and the food security of its people.

This is also why, during its 2024 meeting, the Global-Hub agreed to develop a new stream of work to support the upcoming work of the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) relating to Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems. This will be a critical opportunity to bring Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge into the spotlight within discussions on global food security. It offers an opportunity to learn from this knowledge to “make sure that all people are going to have enough and nutritious food, and to make sure that all people could live in harmony in a healthy environment”, to use the words of Professor Airini, Provost and Vice-President Academic of the University of Saskatchewan.

Besides this important outcome, the Global-Hub meeting established four new drafting committees. New this year, the Global-Hub will start to work on ocean and freshwater-based Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, on food composition of Indigenous Peoples’ foods, Indigenous Peoples’ food security, and on hunting-gathering-fishing, among other areas. 

In addition, the Global-Hub will continue its collective work on co-creation of knowledge and ethical research engagement, on Indigenous Peoples and indicators of poverty, and on the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ mobility, nomadism, and collective rights for biodiversity.

Achieving all these goals is not an easy task. Spending days to travel from different areas of the world, the experts of the Global-Hub needed an exceptional space where they could all come together and feel welcomed, respected, and comfortable in sharing their experience and knowledge. And they found this space in the Nomad Indigenous FoodLab.

Coming all the way from Norway, the FoodLab consists of two Saami Indigenous nomadic tents and a kitchen where a dozen Indigenous chefs worked the whole week. In the middle of the tents lies the sacred fire: a space for sharing, discussing, understanding.

“The tents were very important for us”, said Valmaine Toki, “because they represented a world in balance. The fire brings understanding and recognition. This environment made Indigenous Peoples feel very comfortable and encouraged participation”. 

During the week, one of the two Saami Indigenous Nomadic tents hosted the technical discussions of the Global-Hub, while the other hosted side-events and advocacy activities to raise awareness on key issues that affect Indigenous Peoples’ lives. Every evening, at sunset, the Indigenous Advocacy tent became the stage for the “Tent Talks”: short and inspiring solo speeches from world-class experts on Indigenous Peoples’ issues. And then, as the light faded from the day, the “Fire Talks” began - warm and emotional discussions around the sacred fire, that covered a wide range of topics intertwined with Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems - from music to the impacts of ultra-processed foods.

The 2024 meeting of the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems was truly something unique. The bridge across two worlds: the Indigenous and non-Indigenous. A bridge that is the only way to address the knowledge gap that prevents the world from learning from respectful, effective, nutritious and sustainable food systems of Indigenous Peoples.

“Today it is important to be what we have been called to be, because we are the ones that we have been waiting for. We need Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and our planet is waiting, is asking, for Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge”, concludes Airini.