FAO launches THRIVE Academy in partnership with Centre for Resilience and Sustainable Development at University of Cambridge

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched today the THRIVE Academy in partnership with the Centre for Resilience and Sustainable Development (CRSD) at the University of Cambridge.

This is a regional food systems leadership academy which aims to provide scholarships and skills training to empower local leaders to make better decisions and integrate national pathways to combat food insecurity and hunger in line with the 2030 Agenda.

“At present, such leaderships lack real time information and analytical capacities particularly in the specialized areas such as the climate change mitigation and adaptation for agriculture, water management, soil health, plant production and protection, livestock and fisheries management, and agribusiness. In this context, FAO aims to build their capacities through specifically designed and tailored trainings for stakeholders at political, senior, middle, and junior levels,” said AbdulHakim Elwaer, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.

THRIVE Academy will work on developing analytics and foresights through designed analytical systems, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and provide stakeholders with decision-making tools that are dynamic, real-time and data based.

This initiative will map the way towards sustainable finance and hold the promise of hastening the transformation of national food systems. Additionally, the academy will work with international cooperation partners, private sector organizations, and civil society leaders to improve decision-making at every level of interactions with the food systems. 

In essence, this collaboration represents an unwavering commitment to fostering leadership that navigates complexity, amplifies collaboration, and guides the destiny of citizens living in the regional food systems.