Milano: the regional forum of African cities of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact returns to Dakar.
The initiative from 17 to 19 July.
Milano: the regional forum of African cities of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact returns to Dakar.
Il Milano Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFFP) pitches his fifth Regional Forum in Africa. The event, which opens on July 17th, will end on July 19th, hosted by the city of Dakar Rally on a very current topic: “Provide cities with the tools for developing Food Policy in Africa".
Il Forum is organized by the MUFFP Secretariat, in collaboration with the ACRA Foundation and the NGO Mani tese, with the support of the European Food Wave project and AICS, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The Forum includes three days of training, dedicated to officials of African cities who have signed the MUFFP, on tools for the development of food policies and the involvement of young activists for the European and African climate.
- tools covered by the training were developed with the scientific support from the Polytechnic of Milano, as part of the Food Trails project (financed with Horizon 2020 funds) of which the Municipality of Milano is the leader. Participants will be supported in identifying and implementing actions to improve cities' food policy systems. The Forum will also be an opportunity to exchange good practices and ideas between participating cities, development agencies and international organizations.
"MUFFP's commitment in Africa began in Dakar, with the first Regional Forum in 2016 – declares the Deputy Mayor with responsibility for Food Policy Anna Scavuzzo, who will open the work of the Forum -. Since then, there have been meetings and exchange opportunities: from Brazzaville in Congo in 2018 to Niamey in Niger in 2019 to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso in 2021. The concrete and tangible effort we have carried out in these seven years and the experiences we have gathered on urban food policies, have made us a stronger and more resilient community. With this Forum, once again, we demonstrate the commitment of Milano in continuing the dialogue and exchange of knowledge necessary to transform the food systems of our cities".
“Food security and sovereignty – explains the president of the ACRA Foundation, Nicola Morganti – are among the main areas of action of ACRA which collaborated with the Municipality of Milano from the beginning to promote the MUFFP in all the countries involved, to guarantee synergies and partnerships between the various actors and facilitate the participation of civil society in the process of defining and implementing inclusive and sustainable urban food policies, particularly in the African context" .
“Urban and peri-urban agriculture – says Pietro Pipi, head of Office VI of AICS – offers important opportunities for the conservation and integration of biodiversity into food systems, contributing to the creation of synergies between food and nutritional security and services linked to ecosystems and human well-being. In this sense, the Agreement signed between the Municipality of Milano and AICS in 2022 'for the strengthening of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact' can positively support the involvement of African cities already active in urban food policies that fall within the Agency's priority countries. The Agency recognizes the importance that urban food policies play in the process of sustainable development and the key role that cities can play in strengthening the food security of the population in Africa and at the same time facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. The objective of the Forum is to strengthen the skills and knowledge of officials in African cities, and every investment in human resources is preparatory and precious for any other type of development, in addition to the human one".
Il contribution of African cities to the development of urban food policies is concrete, as demonstrated by the 90 good practices that were presented in the six editions of the Milan Pact Award which saw the awarding of six African cities. The number, quality and effectiveness of these projects implemented by African cities demonstrate their protagonism and commitment to working on the front row in addressing the global challenges of climate change, sustainable development, poverty and social inclusion.
This data emerges by observing the growth of projects and initiatives, like the European project AfriFOODlink which brings together 26 partners around the world, including the MUFPP, with the aim of improve food security and urban sustainability in more than 20 African and European cities. Another important initiative is Food Wave, a European project that aims to involve urban young people to promote awareness of personal and community choices, starting from a sustainable approach to food consumption and production habits in 17 countries around the world and which contributes to the realization of the Forum by allowing 35 young activists to participate in the three days of work.
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