The role of Dialogues in the UN Food Systems Summit
In 2019, the UN Secretary-General called for a Food Systems Summit and engagement process to unleash the power of food and deliver progress on all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Food brings us together as families, communities and nations. It underpins our culture, our economy, and our relationship with the natural world. The world’s food systems touch every aspect of human existence – making them not just essential but also valuable and important instruments of change.
We invite all people to participate in or convene Food Systems Summit Dialogues so that we can have a diverse range of stakeholders – from youth activists to indigenous leaders, smallholder farmers to scientists and CEOs – coming together to identify the most powerful ways to make food systems stronger and more equitable; ultimately driving progress in all of the SDGs.
After all, each of us plays a role in our food systems, and we all have a responsibility to ensure that they function well. By coming together to tackle this vital issue, we can all contribute to a world in which no one is hungry, no one is poor, and no one is left behind. As every one of us continues to adjust to the impacts of COVID-19, the Summit is an opportunity to focus on the fragilities in food systems that are being exposed by the crisis – and to regenerate these systems in ways that respond better to people’s needs.
The Dialogues are an exceptional opportunity for all with an interest to contribute to shaping the pathways that will lead to collectively determine sustainable food systems everywhere and to indicate how they will contribute to making this vision a reality for all.
Outcomes of Food Systems Summit Dialogues will be of use in developing pathways to sustainable food systems within the locality in which they take place. They will also be a valuable contribution to the different work streams preparing for the Summit: the Scientific Group, Champions, other Dialogues and the Five Action Tracks which have been established as a space to share and learn, with a view to foster new actions and partnerships and amplify existing initiatives.
For more information about the Action Tracks, visit UN Food Systems Summit – Action Tracks.
Through Food Systems Summit Dialogues we can energize and accelerate our collective journey to eliminate hunger, create more inclusive and healthier food systems and safeguard the health of our planet. Success of the Summit will hinge on robust, inclusive, and above all, shared preparation – drawing on the best evidence, ideas, and commitments from around the world.
The involvement of different stakeholder groups in the Food Systems Summit is critical. Multi-stakeholder Dialogues are increasingly recognized as a valuable approach for engaging multiple actors to work together, using their combined knowledge, to resolve systems challenges. That is why the programme of Food Systems Summit Dialogues is a core component of the preparations for the Summit.They encourage a collaborative approach at a time when there are many incentives for fragmentation. The Dialogues enable different stakeholders to come together to consider and discuss their roles in food systems with others.
Through a progression of Dialogues, we can explore new ways to work together to create food systems that are both sustainable and equitable, aligned with the SDGs, and suited to the needs of our future world and her people.