"A Change of Route towards more Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems in the Mediterranean Countries: the Mediterranean Diet as a Strategic Resource for Accelerating Agenda 2030 in the Region" is the title of the third world conference on the Revitalization of the Mediterranean Diet, which will take place from 28 to 30 September at CIHEAM Bari's Cosimo Lacirignola Campus.
Recognizing the Mediterranean Diet as a sustainable food model, suited to current Mediterranean lifestyles, identifying strategies, programmes, projects and actions to improve the sustainability of food systems, halt malnutrition and the degradation of ecosystems, counteract climate change and stop the collapse of biodiversity in the region, enhance people's livelihoods, are some of the topics that will be addressed by over 200 international experts and stakeholders, who will convene for three days across twenty one thematic sessions, aiming to urge a change of route towards Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean Region and accelerating the 2030 Agenda.
In line with the Call to Action of the G20 Matera Declaration, this initiative aims to foster a change of route towards more resilient food systems, with the Mediterranean diet acting as a Sustainable Consumption and Production Lever, following the One-Health holistic approach, a conceptual model that integrates human and animal health, the environment and lifestyle.
The meeting will be opened on 28 September, at 9:30, by Maurizio Raeli, Director of CIHEAM Bari, Stefano Bronzini, Rector of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Angelo Riccaboni, President of PRIMA Foundation, Paolo De Castro, Coordinator of the European Parliamentary Alliance Against Hunger, Janusz Wojciechowski Commissioner for Agriculture of the European Commission, Placido Plaza, Secretary General of CIHEAM, Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of UfM, Maurizio Martina, Assistant Director General of FAO, Antonio Decaro, Mayor of Bari, Michele Emiliano, President of Puglia Region.
Mohammed Sadiki, Morocco's Minister of Agriculture, Marine Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forestry and President of CIHEAM's Governing Board, and Mahmoud Elies Hamza, Tunisia's Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, will deliver the closing remarks of the opening session. Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is also expected to attend.
The conference, which will feature several sessions, will end on 30 September. This event, scheduled to coincide with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, is organized by CIHEAM in Bari under the auspices of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, Health, Ecological Transition and the Union for the Mediterranean, Puglia Region and the Municipality of Bari, with the technical support of the FAO.