World Food Forum - Global Flagship Event - Welcome Address

WORLD FOOD FORUM 

Global Flagship Event

Welcome Address 

Dr. QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General 

As delivered

1 October 2021

Excellences,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Dear our future masters,

 

1.            I am honored to be opening the first-ever World Food Forum flagship event, powered by the global youth.

 

2.            The youth leadership behind the creation of this event is truly inspiring.

 

3.            It has already exceeded all expectations.

 

4.            When I took office in 2019, I launched the FAO Youth Committee as a way of empowering and engaging youth and encouraging their innovation.

 

5.            Today, I am truly impressed by their level of ingenuity and resourcefulness.

 

6.            And of how enthusiastically and effectively youth have stepped up to the challenges of transforming our agri-food systems.

 

7.            The World Food Forum -WFF - was conceived by the FAO Youth Committee shortly after it was set up.

 

8.            Since then, it has brought together thousands of young people, creating an independent and youth-led network of hundreds of major youth groups, influencers and an array of public and private organizations.

 

9.            All with the common goal of agri-food systems transformation through youth-led action.

 

10.          A transformation which is based on science, evidence, innovation and data, and is action oriented.

 

11.          This year the WFF has already hosted a range of events with participants from all corners of the world:

 

12.          master classes, youth consultations, research initiatives, podcasts, social media challenges and so much more.

 

13.          The WFF has partnered with food icons to create a new visual language to explain and communicate our agri-food systems.

 

14.          And to help us overcome the often-limited capabilities our rural areas face because of the high illiteracy rate.

 

15.          This new visual language through digital technologies we are launching will be able to be understood by all!

 

16.          It has worked with Extreme Tech Challenge to showcase innovators and entrepreneurs who are harnessing the power of technology to drive agri-food systems transformation.

 

17.          The WFF has hosted a Zero Waste cooking challenge, an Afro Beat dance video campaign, organized inter-generational dialogues and panel discussions between youth and world leaders,

 

18.          And brought in some of the most inspiring young leaders and influencers to champion the cause.

 

19.          The WFF is launching “Change the Game, Change the Future” first ever game that combines the most sophisticated modeling tools for countries and policy makers through a game,

 

20.          To better understand the consequences of their actions and how different pathways could allow us to move to more efficient agri-food systems,

 

21.          Where tradeoffs with nature and the environment are understood and minimized.

 

22.          The list goes on and on.

 

23.          The creativity is spreading!

 

24.          And the momentum is growing!

 

25.          The week-long celebration that kicks off today is a celebration of how far this youth movement has already come,

 

26.          And of how much more incredible transformation lies ahead.

 

27.          Including a film festival, innovation labs and agri-food system education initiatives, to name a few.

 

28.          High level participants from around the world are joining in.

 

29.          Indigenous leaders are joining in.

 

30.          Private sectors are joining in.

 

31.          Academia is joining in.

 

32.          Producers and producer associations are joining in.

 

33.          Representatives from all continents are here with us.

 

34.          I welcome you all!

 

35.          Everyone is here to be heard, inspired and empowered.

 

36.          This week is about adopting new ways of thinking, new ways of working together,

 

37.          And new ways of taking action to overcome the global challenges facing our agri-food systems.

 

38.          We are not just celebrating, but we are getting down to work.

 

39.          We are here to find solutions and ways to build back better for the future.

 

40.          We cannot go forward with the old thinking patterns and behaviors.

 

41.          We must innovate outside of the box.

 

42.          We need profound and systemic transformation combined with bold actions.

 

43.          The daunting challenges force us to speed up and scale up the SDGs  to achieve “zero hunger’’ first.

44.          Last year marked an increase in world hunger - with up to 811 million people facing hunger in 2020.

 

45.          One-quarter of the world is in food crisis.

 

46.          The climate crisis is accelerating and is putting increasing pressure on our agri-food systems.

 

47.          The COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturns, pests and diseases, ongoing conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies, are making matters worse.

 

48.          And it is the younger generation who has the most at stake.

 

49.          Youth will be the ones living with the dire consequences of the climate crisis.

 

50.          Youth are the ones who are being called upon to fight in conflict and crisis.

 

51.          But it is also the youth who provide an unstoppable source of creativity, inventiveness and resilience to overcome all these challenges.

 

52.          There are 1.8 billion young people in the world between the ages of 10 and 24, which is the largest generation of young people in history.

 

53.          And nearly 90% of them live in developing countries.

 

54.          Overall, more than half of the global population is under the age of 30.

 

55.          That is an unlimited amount of potential energy!

 

56.          Never before has there been such a singular opportunity for leveraging the passion and energy of youth for a better food future.

 

57.          And the World Food Forum is harnessing that energy.

 

58.          Turning that energy into widespread awareness, holistic solutions and concrete youth-lead actions.

 

59.          We are here today to listen to young voices and to empower the younger generation to be co-creators of the better food future that they deserve.

 

60.          A future in which there is:

 

•             better production,

•             better nutrition,

•             a better environment,

•             and a better life for all - leaving no one behind.

 

61.          Beyond this week of events, the WFF will live on and build even greater momentum as an ongoing platform that adapts to new challenges as they arise.

 

62.          We will continue to engage and empower youth to transform our agri-food systems, until the changes we seek become the new reality.

 

63.          I want to thank you all for joining us in this movement to create a better food future for all.

 

64.          The new future in your hands starts now!

 

65.          Thank you.