The journey of food – Young Macedonian and Turkish artists win the World Food Day poster contest

World Food Day inspired Mihaela Stojmenovikj, a 17-year-old student from North Macedonia to portray the important work of family farmers, who are ensuring that our agrifood systems provide us with a variety of nutritious foods. Separated by more than 700 kilometers but sharing an appreciation for nature, Dilara Karabacak, a 10-year-old student from Türkiye, successfully conveyed the respect and care we owe the Earth for the gifts of the soil given to farmers and to us all that nourish us.

With their images, Mihaela and Dilara each won the first prize in FAO’s 2022 global World Food Day poster contest in their respective age category— Mihaela in the 16 – 19 years age group and Dilara in the  9 – 12 years section.

Michaela’s poster is a combination of twelve scenes, each detailing a different food story. These stories form the cells of a honeycomb that symbolizes the food system, in which bees play a fundamental role in propagating the plants that underpin our food security, nutrition, and the environment. The vignettes tell the journey of food from farm – farmer plow land, raise livestock, milk a cow, and harvest grapes, there are vineyards, a maize field and apple orchards in bloom and production, while bees buzz at the apiary – to the green markets and ultimately, to our tables.

Michaela has previously won several artistic contests and she was very excited to use her creativity to participate in the global call to action for the 2022 World Food Day.

Dilara chose Mother Earth as the main character in her poster. Colorful strands of children holding harvest bounty of fruits and vegetables form Mother Earth’s hair. As she put it , the soil does not leave any effort unpaid, therefore it is our interest to manage it well. Dilara completed the composition with other sections that describe how agriculture should be taught to all children of the world at a young age through experience.

Mihaela, the winner from North Macedonia, hopes that together with her fellow contestants around the world she is helping to spread the word that by aiming for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, we can achieve a Zero Hunger world where no one is left behind.