EXPO_BCFN YOUTH MANIFESTO ON FOOD, NUTRITION & SUSTAINABILITY DRIVING THE CHANGE

The Fondazione Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition presented the Youth Manifesto, dedicated to the future of food, people and the planet, to the Minister of Agriculture Maurizio Martina at the Expo Milano 2015 Conference Centre today, September 23. The Manifesto - the drafting of which involved 80 young researchers from around the world - makes concrete proposals to solve the paradoxes of the food system, and and has been contributed  to the Milan Charter.
 
The Manifesto was presented and handed over to Minister Martina
 
During the morning, the Manifesto was presented by two youth. Behind them, the names of all the world’s powerful people scrolled down a screen . The Manifesto goes beyond principles, to share concrete proposals for the seven key components in the food system: policy makers, farmers, activists, educators, food industry, journalists and researchers. These professionals will be entrusted with the management of the great challenges of the Planet: hunger, obesity, food waste and exploitation of the Earth. Now the Manifesto is available in the Pavilions of the countries of origin of the many researchers who drew it up.
 
The conference was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Maurizio Martina, who thanked Barilla CFN for the almost pioneering work carried out over the years on issues that have been discussed at Expo Milano 2015. “A further proof of the fact that the relationship between private and public responsibility is changing and that great challenges require the direct involvement of citizens and enterprises too.  Expo Milano 2015 has opened up new areas of work, these commitments are written down in the pavilions every day and will not end with the end of the six months of the Universal Exposition. The real work starts on November 1".
 
Slow Food, Fondazione Banco Alimentare and Save the Children to win the challenge
 
Martina’s speech, was followed by a discussion panel with representatives of three associations also active at Expo Milano 2015: Marco Lucchini of the Fondazione Banco Alimentare (Food Bank),  Elena Avenati of Save the Children and Cinzia Scaffidi of Slow Food. There was a common message: no one can win this challenge alone, sharing and networking between the different stakeholders is important.
 
Paolo Barilla answers young people's questions
 
Following, the vice president of Barilla CFN, Paolo Barilla answered the questions of two young representatives on the role of companies in the challenges for the future of food. “For years, the Barilla Foundation has been working with young researchers from around the world. The Youth Manifesto is the crowning achievement  of this activity that ends with the presentation of the Milan Charter to Ban-ki Moon - affirmed Paolo Barilla, Vice President of Fondazione BCFN -. These young people helped create the Protocol of Milan, the document of Fondazione Barilla included in the Milan Charter to make the world food system more fair and sustainable.”
 
The finalists and two winners of BcfnYes!
 
In the audience were the participants of the fourth edition of BcfnYes !, the competition organized by Fondazione Barilla CFN for young students and researchers interested in food sustainability issues. The two winners were awarded yesterday in Parma. They were Analog Forestry, a project to enable local Amazon communities to plant without compromising the forest; and by Eco-Sustainable Gardens, to make women of northern Cameroon self-sufficient by teaching them how to cultivate their land effectively. Both were awarded a prize of 10,000 euros. The winning projects were selected among ten finalist ideas which, in the year of Expo Milano 2015, focused on the issues of food sovereignty and came from researchers in Nigeria, Cameroon, Indonesia, Nepal, Poland, France, the United States and Italy.