AGENDA & SPEAKERS

This session will aim to showcase the transformational power of coherent and holistic policies – from the global to the local level. The session will discuss the need to mainstream food systems in the Rio Conventions and other relevant multilateral agreements, as well as further issues like the implications of the current trade regime, and the Stockholm+50 call to rethink the global economic model.

This session will focus on the principles, methods and best practices to ensure fruitful, inclusive, effective multi-actor collaboration including in governance arrangements, as a key transformational force towards sustainable food systems. Speakers will exchange experiences and best practices on key challenges in this regard, including how to overcome the issues of financing inclusive participation and designing mechanisms aimed at correcting decision-making imbalances, in light of respective National Pathways for Food Systems Transformation.

Addressing Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP, SDG12) is fundamental for the integration of historically “siloed” agendas. Integrated policies are needed to tackle the interrelated crises of hunger and malnutrition, climate, biodiversity, pollution, conflict, energy, consumer prices, and inequality. The new UN Global SCP Strategy identifies a series of transformation enablers, several of which are particularly relevant to food systems. Public procurement, the food environment and providing better consumer information all have key levers to trigger a shift to sustainable consumption and production in our food systems. This session will present initiatives that have successfully addressed levers in different transformation enablers in their attempt to implement sustainable solutions to different food systems challenges. The session will discuss and issue recommendations on what is needed to unleash systemic shift to SCP, including how to inspire policy changes in line with the SDGs and Food Systems National Pathways.

This session will explore the key enablers for sustainable food systems from the perspective of science, finance and investments, human rights and innovation in all its forms, acknowledging that evidence alone is necessary but not sufficient to make transformation processes happen. Therefore, this session will assess the political economy that shapes decision-making in the face of trade-offs and relations and showcase concrete country/local examples that have dealt with such obstacles to unleash their local key enablers. [agenda / sequence]

This session will discuss how the UNFSS coalitions are promoting/applying a food systems approach and will identify synergies across coalitions and other multi-actor initiatives that might strengthen a systems approach, with a view to accelerate food systems transformation. Furthermore, this roundtable session will build bridges across coalitions to foster greater collaboration in holistically advancing progress on the SDGs.

This session will discuss what accountability and monitoring frameworks, institutions and processes for usage of data and evidence are required for the urgent transition to sustainable food systems. The session will include showcasing leading efforts at measuring the transformation towards sustainable food systems through multi-dimensional indices, discussing the challenges to their usage by decision-makers, and discuss which improvements and approaches could make evidence and data truly become supporting instruments to the UNFSS follow-up process. [agenda / sequence]

Building on all the previous sessions, this session will bring together National Food Systems Convenors from all world regions to dialogue, focusing on their respective decisions for implementation of FS national Pathway implementation, including differences in institutional architecture set-ups as well as integration with other policy sectors, and their approaches, commitments and strategies to resource transformation endeavours. Convenors will also present respective key take-aways from this conference and discuss their next steps in support of their own National Pathways, as well as the upcoming 2023 Stock-Taking Moment. [agenda / sequence]

This session will be the formal closing of the conference. Speakers will summarize the key conclusions of the conference that will be forwarded to the Food Systems Coordination Hub and the organizers of the 2023 Stock-Taking Moment.