United Nations and Italy announce the Pre-Food Systems Summit

The United Nations and the Government of Italy today announced that the 2021 pre-UN Food Systems Summit will be held in Rome from 19 to 21 July 2021.

Led by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the event will bring together the efforts and contributions of a global engagement process aimed at transforming food systems. The three-day event will bring together youth, small farmers, indigenous peoples, researchers, the private sector, political leaders and ministers of agriculture, environment, health and finance, among others, to provide the latest scientific approach and based on good practices from around the world, launch a series of new commitments through new shared actions and mobilize new funding and alliances. The Food Systems Summit will take place in September as part of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“The pre-summit in Italy will be a key moment to mobilize the ambitious commitments we need to build sustainable food systems that work for people, the planet and prosperity. Through accelerated action we can help the world build back better from COVID-19, fight growing hunger and address the climate crisis,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

As a pre-Summit host, the Italian Government will make a commitment to the food system at the national level to define the spirit and ambitions ahead of the Summit.

“Italy is ready to welcome this essential meeting of the Food Systems Summit in Rome. We want to address the issue of food security within our broad agenda as the G20 Presidency. Together with the United Nations and its Rome-based agencies, Italy will engage with its partners to promote better agriculture, sustainable production chains and healthy lifestyles. I expect everyone to join us in a global effort to protect the environment with meaningful actions,” said Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

The pre-summit event will take place in a “hybrid” virtual format over three days, during which many will attend in person at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, while others will take starts from all over the world through a vast virtual platform. Global leaders are expected to step up and launch new courageous actions, solutions, alliances and strategies to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic and make progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each of the which relies to some extent on food systems that support nutrition, sustainability and equity.

The pre-summit will take place in Rome while Italy chairs the G20 process and hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November. The role of food systems in achieving global goals and climate targets will also be a central priority at these other events, continuing to deliver on the ambition of the Food Systems Summit.