WEBINAR: Pathways for the future of food systems in the Mediterranean

27 April 2021, Online Food Systems Summit Dialogue event: Pathways for the future of food systems in the Mediterranean 

The CIHEAM; the FAO; the UfMs; the UN One Planet Network Sustainable Food Systems Programme and the PRIMA Foundation, are co-organising two Food Systems Summit Dialogues ( 27 April and 3 June 2021) aiming at advancing a common understanding of the complex environment of Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean region (SFS MED).

Convened as a Mediterranean multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary forum for scientific, technical and policy dialogue, the SFS-MED FSSDs are expected to highlight collaborative and science-based pathways leading to the transformation of food systems in the Mediterranean towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda goals, directly contributing to the Summit’s vision and objectives. 

The two dialogues will link the outcomes of the 2nd World Conference on the Revitalization of the Mediterranean Diet (May 2019) and the recommendations of the 3rd Global Conference of the OPN-SFSP (November-December 2020) to the Summit’s Action Tracks and Levers of Change. 

The objectives of the first SFS-MED Independent Dialogue were to:

• Ensure a deeper understanding of the interconnections and interdependences within Mediterranean food systems at every stage (from production, processing, distribution, marketing to the consumption of food, including food waste), based on consolidated scientific evidence and local knowledge. 
• Catalyse joint action, using the Mediterranean Diet as lever to improve the sustainability and resilience of Mediterranean food systems, by bridging Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). 
• Engage a wide network of food systems stakeholders within the broader frameworks of green, blue and circular economy, to design future scenarios of sustainable food systems in the Mediterranean region. 

The SFS-MED UNFSS Dialogues are expected to be linked as well to the outcomes of Member State Dialogues in the region, to provide Mediterranean countries and stakeholders with key elements, to formulate their pathways towards the achievement of the SDGs by 2030, within a wider regional SFS approach.

Part 1: See the full programme

• Welcome Jamie Morrison, Director, Food Systems and Food Safety Division, FAO 
• High-level remarks by the convenors Why this dialogue as a collaborative effort? 
• Plácido Plaza, Secretary General, CIHEAM 
• Isidro González, Deputy Secretary General, UfM 
• Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist, FAO 
• Jean-Marc Chappuis, Deputy Director-General, Federal Office for Agriculture, Switzerland, on behalf of the co-leadership of OPN-SFSP 
• Angelo Riccaboni, Chair, PRIMA Foundation 
• High-level introduction Towards the Food Systems Summit - Agnes Kalibata, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to the 2021 Food Systems Summit (Video message) 
• High-level remark Fisheries and Aquaculture: A key for food systems transformation in the Mediterranean - Riccardo Rigillo, Director-General, Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies of Italy 

Part 2: Sessions

1. Leveraging the science-policy nexus to understand interconnections and interdependences within Mediterranean food systems Elliot Berry Professor, Braun School of Public Health Hebrew University of Jerusalem 
2. Sustainable food from the sea: a key pillar of an SDG-oriented blue and circular economy in the Mediterranean Árni Mathiesen Senior Adviser Iceland Ocean Cluster Former Assistant Director-General, Fisheries & Aquaculture Department, FAO 
3. Towards a green and circular economy for sustainable food systems in the Mediterranean Roberta de Palma Chief Technical Advisor UNIDO 
4. Sustainable management of land and water in the context of climate change in the Mediterranean Pandi Zdruli Land Expert CIHEAM-Bari 
5. The Mediterranean diet as a lever for sustainable consumption and production in the Mediterranean Suzanne Piscopo Professor, Department for Health, Physical Education and Consumer Studies, and Member of the Platform for Mediterranean Foodways University of Malta 
6. The role of cities in building more sustainable food systems in the Mediterranean Gianluca Brunori Professor of Food Policy, University of Pisa Member of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group to assess the needs, potential, feasibility and approach for International Platform for Food Systems Science
7. Equitable and inclusive livelihoods in food systems through skills and entrepreneurship Florence Tartanac Senior Nutrition Officer, Food and Nutrition Division, FAO
8. Technological and organizational innovation for accelerating food systems transformation to achieve the SDGs in the Mediterranean Angelo Riccaboni Chair of the Board PRIMA Foundation