World Food Day at Expo Milano 2015

The official celebration of World Food Day this year at Expo Milano 2015 is promising to be one of the World Exposition’s biggest events.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Director-General of FAO will be joined by the President of the Republic of Italy and the Italian Ministers for Agriculture and Foreign Affairs for the opening ceremony.

Falling in an opportune moment, just after the Summit in September 2015 and before the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COPI), World Food Day will be a unique opportunity to send a strong message to young people – the Zero Hunger Generation – on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to engage them in the challenge of sustainably eradicating hunger and poverty over the next 15 years.

The official ceremony will commemorate FAO’s 70th Anniversary and address the theme for World Food Day 2015, “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”, and how this links with the UN theme for Expo 2015, “The Zero Hunger Challenge · United for a sustainable world”. Representatives of FAO member countries, Expo country commissioners, representatives of the Italian Government and other partners have been invited to this high-level event.

Highlights of the ceremony will include the official presentation of the Milan Charter to the UN Secretary-General, a manifesto that engages all citizens in the fight against undernourishment, malnutrition and waste, while promoting equal access to natural resources and sustainability. The Urban Food Policy Pact, where Mayors worldwide commit to coordinating international food policies, is another important legacy document that will be presented. In addition to the keynote speakers, the Heads of IFAD and WFP will deliver statements during the ceremony and a few words will be heard from Pope Francis.

Other World Food Day events on 16 October, with the participation of the UN Secretary-General and FAO Director-General, include “Zero Hunger Generation”, an interactive question and answer session with students exploring the crucial role that young people will play in achieving the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and “Finance for Food”, organised by the Italian Ministry of Economy and IFAD.