Invitation to technical webinar

Tuesday 28 April 2020 | 14:30 - 16:00 CEST

Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition: Making agriculture and food systems nutrition-sensitive

Register here. 

BACKGROUND

This international technical webinar is part of the series organized by the FAO eLearning Academy, Agreenium (l'Institut agronomique, vétérinaire et forestier de France) and UN-ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). These webinars are an opportunity for all of us to share experiences and lessons learnt, discuss challenges, and propose innovative solutions and models. They aim to provide a holistic and comprehensive view of current trends in thematic areas related to global challenges, by combining development research and innovation perspectives.

The main objective of these technical webinars is to give practitioners the opportunity to interact with international experts, United Nations officers, University professors, researchers and fellow participants, throughout the world. Webinars can be attended as interactive online sessions on Zoom, where sharing perspectives and asking questions to experts is encouraged. These sessions are also recorded and therefore available at any time, through the FAO elearning Academy: elearning.fao.org.

OBJECTIVES

• Explain the linkages between agriculture, food systems and nutrition

• Describe existing opportunities for integrating nutrition into food system policies, investments
  
  and programmes

• Explain the importance of sustainable nutrition-sensitive food systems

SPEAKERS

This technical webinar will be delivered by Ms Patrizia Fracassi, Senior nutrition and food system officer (FAO) and Ms Sylvie Avallone, Professor (Montpellier SupAgro), and moderated by Ms Cristina Petracchi, Head of the FAO eLearning Academy.

Patrizia Fracassi is Senior Nutrition and Food Systems Officer at FAO leading the work on governance, policies, programmes and investments. Previously, she was the Senior Nutrition Analyst and Strategy Adviser at the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Secretariat focusing on Government-led multi-sectoral approaches for planning, costing, managing implementation, tracking investments and mobilizing resources. Patrizia has worked in Ethiopia with UNICEF on Nutrition Information System strengthening and for the World Bank on Linkages between the Productive Safety Net Program and the National Nutrition Program. She also worked for UNICEF Uganda as a Nutrition Specialist and for CESVI and Oxfam Italia in Vietnam as Country Director, specializing in community based nutrition, primary health care and livelihoods. Patrizia holds a Doctorate in Health Research, a M.Sc. in Development Management and an M.A. in Human Sciences. She is interested on the political economy of nutrition.

Sylvie Avallone is a Professor at the Institut Agro and Deputy Director of the Institute for Higher Education in Tropical Agri-Food Sciences. She is a member of the scientific committee of the UNESCO Chair “World Food Systems” and researcher of the Joint Unit Research “QualiSud”. She has extensive experience of research on the capacity of natural resources, traditional recipes and fortified food to improve micronutrient status of vulnerable population. She has worked with various types of food systems stakeholders, such as Non-Governmental Organizations, UNICEF, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and the private sector. She holds a PhD in Food Sciences and has published a number of papers in peer reviewed journals in the field of food quality within the supply chain. Ms Avallone is involved in European projects to strengthen Universities in their capacity to address sustainability issues and particularly food quality and food sector development.

Cristina Petracchi heads the FAO elearning Academy. She manages and coordinates the design, development, delivery and language adaptations of an extensive portfolio e-learning courses and blended learning programmes for the benefit of FAO member countries, and is responsable for the creation of University Masters' and Post Graduate Degree Programmes. She engages actively in consolidating partnerships across United Nations agencies, academic institutions and universities, regional organizations, CSOs and NGOs, for capacity development initiatives. In addition to a University Degree in Biological Sciences, Ms Petracchi holds a PhD in Nutrition and Food Science, and has several years of experience of capacity development activities, in a number of countries.