Flemish Minister Crevits, figurehead and initiator of the Flemish Food Strategy, was nominated as National Convenor for the Member States Dialogues in the run-up to the UN Food Systems Summit. The summit will take place this fall, at the initiative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The UN summit is part of the Decade of Action to Deliver the 2030 Agenda, and will bring the UN system and all food stakeholders together. Its aim is to raise awareness among the international community and forge commitments and actions to sustainably transform global food systems. It should first and foremost become a 'people's summit' and a 'solutions summit'. The outcome is in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but is not based on documents, but mainly on concrete actions and commitments of Member States and other actors.
In the run-up to the summit, a participative and inclusive process was set up worldwide, to which Flanders also actively contributes. The Government of Flanders is putting the food theme at the top of the agenda and launched the 'Vlaamse Kost' campaign, in which a society-wide debate will be held about how we want to develop our food economy in Flanders sustainably in the future. The Flemish Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for the organization and is given a leading role in entering into cooperation with all relevant policy domains, levels and stakeholders. This will culminate in a new Flemish Food Strategy and a major Food Summit in 2022. The nomination of Minister Crevits as National Convenor on behalf of Belgium offers a unique opportunity to put this Flemish process in the spotlight internationally and to share Flemish good practices.
The preparatory summit in Rome will take place from 26 to 28 July. The actual summit in New York will take place in mid-September, on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
© BELGA PHOTO JONAS D'HOLLANDER
