FAO at 75 – Grow, nourish, sustain. Together.

Born in 1945 amid the idealism of post-war reconstruction, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations sets out to increase farm output around the world and make famines a thing of the past. Over the subsequent 75 years, FAO’s outlook and body of work acquire new environmental and sustainability dimensions (FAO, 2020).

By 2020, continued success has required strategic re-invention. As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates vulnerabilities linked to conflict and climate change, FAO is looking to advanced research partnerships, digitalization, and wall-to-wall innovation to help end hunger and malnutrition. With ten years to go until the Sustainable Development Goals come due, the race is on for bold answers and dramatic solutions (FAO, 2020).

FAO World Food Day Poster Contest (ages 5-19)
If you are or know someone who is between ages 5 and 19, FAO wants to hear from you! Please consider using your imagination and create a poster showing a world where no one is left behind, and everyone has access to healthy and affordable food (FAO, 2022).

Everything in our world is connected – from our food to our cultures, environment and economies. Today, many people continue to face global challenges like poverty and hunger, climate change, conflict and inequality. Global challenges need global solutions! We can all learn how to be part of these global solutions, for a sustainable future where every person counts. Take a photo or scan your poster and submit your entry by filling out the form on the FAO website (below).

Three winners in each age category will be selected and announced in December. Winners will be promoted by FAO offices around the world and receive a surprise gift bag and Certificate of Recognition. To participate, you must be aged 5 - 19. The deadline for entries is 4 November 2022 (FAO, 2022).
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https://www.fao.org/home/en
https://hungermap.wfp.org/
https://www.fao.org/world-food-day/contest/en
https://www.fao.org/3/cb1182en/cb1182en.pdf
https://www.fao.org/news/podcast/fao75
https://www.fao.org/news/podcast/fao75-2
https://www.fao.org/news/podcast/fao75-3

Introducing the Tri-Agency Earth Observing Dashboard (EOD) by NASA, ESA, and JAXA...

International collaboration among space agencies is central to the success of satellite Earth observations and data analysis, aiming at providing an accurate and timely information to decision-makers, main stakeholders and public. These partnerships foster more comprehensive measurements, robust datasets, and cost-effective missions (EOD, 2022).

The European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have combined their resources, technical knowledge, and expertise to produce this Earth Observing Dashboard, which strengthens our understanding of global environmental changes and other societal challenges impacting our planet (EOD, 2022).

The dashboard provides an easy-to-use resource for all kinds of public from the scientist to the decision-maker, including people not familiar with satellites. Based on accurate remote sensing observations, the EOD showcases examples of global environmental changes on 7 themes: Atmosphere, Oceans, Biomass, Cryosphere, Agriculture, Covid-19 and Economy. The dashboard offers a precise, objective and factual view without any artifacts of our planet. Users can explore countries and regions around the world to see how the indicators in specific locations changed over time. ESA, JAXA, and NASA will continue to enhance this dashboard as new data becomes available (EOD, 2022).
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https://eodashboard.org/

UNICEF: An Unstoppable Force for Change in the Lives of Our Precious Children Around the World...

Since the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was first established in the aftermath of World War II, these wonderful people have been at the frontlines of humanitarian crises, armed conflict and natural disasters. Undeterred by the scale of the crises, they have risen to every challenge, reimagining what is possible and responding by helping millions of children survive and thrive. Their on-the-ground expertise has reached more than 191 countries and territories, through committed partnerships and a passion for innovation (UNICEF, 2022).

For 75+ years, UNICEF has been working tirelessly for child rights and for the well-being of every child. UNICEF is the world’s largest provider of vaccines, and supports children's health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill building, HIV prevention and treatment for mothers and babies, and the protection of children and adolescents from violence and exploitation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about the mental health of a generation of children. But the pandemic may represent the tip of a mental health iceberg – an iceberg we have ignored for far too long (UNICEF, 2021).
The State of the World’s Children 2021 examines child, adolescent and caregiver mental health. It focuses on risks and protective factors at critical moments in the life course and delves into the social determinants that shape mental health and well-being. It calls for commitment, communication and action as part of a comprehensive approach to promote good mental health for every child, protect vulnerable children and care for children facing the greatest challenges (UNICEF, 2021).
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https://www.unicef.org/
https://www.unicef.org/about-unicef
https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/covid-19
https://www.unicef.org/where-we-work
https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-children-2021
https://www.unicef.org/media/112536/file/HAC-2022-Overview.pdf
https://www.unicef.org/sdgs
https://www.voicesofyouth.org/
https://www.unicef.org/careers/explore-careers-unicef
https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-global-education-crisis
https://www.unicef.org/reports
https://www.unicef.org/careers/

L’indépendance d’une nation se caractérise par sa capacité à se défendre, à se construire et surtout à garantir l’alimentation équilibrée de l’ensemble de ses habitants. Mais malheureusement la majorité des jeunes ont délaissé ce secteur pourtant porteur de richesses, d'opportunités et d'emplois pour des emplois salariés dans des bureaux. Comment impliquer et maintenir les jeunes dans ce secteur ?

Climate and geopolitical shocks: Can we afford to maintain the same agricultural system and “feed the world” narrative that has predominated over the past 50 years? Or is it time to change our paradigm?

Hi there from Chelmsford, England on behalf of Project Globalymbe. We are very much looking forward to discussing Stockholm+50 and IPBES9 conferences. Tally ho! Andrew.

Our development pathways, including the SDGs, stem from a highly anthropocentric understanding of the world, with human beings firmly at the center of it. Put it simply, it's always all about us.

But humans are not separated from the natural environment, we are part of it, and this conception has yes brought development (in certain areas of the world), but has also caused the current triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Animal welfare specifically have constantly be left out of global environmental discourses. This has a wide range of negative consequences given that systems underpinned by animal suffering threaten sustainable development (e.g. industrial farming, wild-life trade etc.).

But also, in the transition to a more sustainable society, animals should be treated ethically in their own right, don't you think?

Read this interesting article to see how animal welfare is linked to sustainable development and why it should be high on the agenda at Stockholm+50.

Thanks Silvia Mantilla for sharing!

A lesson from the Pollinators...

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Confucius

The key to success is action, and the essential in action is perseverance. Sun Yat-sen

The winds of heaven change suddenly; so do human fortunes. Chinese Proverb

Change your thoughts and you change your world. Norman Vincent Peale

Wherever wind visits, there it freshens the air; wherever wisdom visits, there it freshens the mind! Mehmet Murat Ildan

There are many paths to enlightenment. Be sure to take one with a heart. Lao Tzu

Waking up to who you are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be. Jim Britt

True enlightenment is nothing but the nature of one's own self being fully realized. Dalai Lama

Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. Marianne Williamson

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius
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https://lnkd.in/eDDPqfT
https://lnkd.in/ermBtD7
https://lnkd.in/eGypHvT
https://lnkd.in/e3KXtT4
https://www.pollinator.org/shop/posters

Did you know there’s another COP?

With just months to go until UN Biodiversity COP15, countries left Geneva without resolving many of the key elements of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Observers said the talks moved at a “glacial pace”, with some raising concerns that countries are “heading for Copenhagen” – a reference to the 2009 climate summit that was widely perceived to have ended in failure.

Read Elizabeth Mrema, chief of the Convention of Biological Diversity, reflections on the negotiations and her hope - which I personally completely support - climate change and biodiversity loss should be tackled together as one problem at UN summits in future.