Poverty is at the root of why more than 800 million people are chronically hungry and up to two billion people lack food security. This forum will explore challenges and options in building a secure, equitable global food system that is sustainable for the long term.

What is needed to overcome the current crisis and ensure global food security for future generations?
What will be the impact of the looming energy crisis on food supply, especially in developing countries?
How should we address the inequalities in land access that help perpetuate poverty?
How can we best ensure space for traditional ecological farming and land management practices?
How can we better support women’s role in food security, given they produce much of the world’s food?

Venue

Adelaide Town Hall auditorium 128 King William Street

Date & time

Wednesday, 10 September 2008 9:01 AM

MODERATOR

Professor Pal Ahluwalia – Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia

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SPEAKERS

Farhad Mazhar – Managing Director of UBINIG, Bangladesh (Policy Research for Development Alternative) which created one of the biggest community seed banks in the world and is a leading player in South Asian bio-diverse and ecological agriculture movements.

Sophia Murphy – consultant and senior advisor to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Global Governance Program. Her work is focused on food security, agricultural trade rules, U.S. trade and agriculture policy and the interests of developing countries in the multilateral trade system.

Tim Costello – Chief Executive of World Vision Australia. Tim is recognised as one of Australia’s leading voices on social justice issues, and has been instrumental in ensuring that the issues surrounding global poverty are placed on the national agenda.

Jacqui De Lacy - Assistant Director General responsible for food security in the sustainable development group in AusAID. She has worked in development for 18 years. She has significant experience working on Australia’s aid programs to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. She also represented AusAID at Australia’s mission to the UN where she was Vice-President of the UNICEF Executive Board.