The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, recently highlighted activities for school children associated with UN World Food Day, which falls on 16th October each year.
Minister Creed said, “I would like teachers and students to be aware of a poster and video competition run by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for World Food Day 2016.”
The FAO is calling on children and teens all over the world, from age 5 to 19, to use their imagination and create a poster that illustrates this year’s World Food Day theme: “Climate is changing – food and agriculture must too”. The FAO is also asking teenagers aged 13 to 19 to produce a video no longer than 1 minute with their phones on their ideas on the World Food Day theme. The closing date for these competitions is 30 September 2016.
Further information, including classroom resources, is available at:
http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/2016/contest/en/
Minister Creed stated: “Ireland is a long-term and committed partner of the FAO in its efforts to achieve food security for all. I would ask teachers and parents to encourage students to enter these competitions, which illustrate the important role of agriculture and food in sustainable development.”
Minister Creed also highlighted a booklet available from his Department ‘World Food – Facts, Figures, and Activities’. The booklet is aimed at raising awareness amongst school children of the serious challenges faced by the world’s poor, while highlighting the real potential in these countries if they are provided with opportunities to develop their agriculture production in a sustainable manner. The booklet was produced in 2013 as a collaboration between Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Gorta, Agri-Aware, Concern, Junior Achievement Ireland, and Irish Aid.
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/publications/2013/WFDITBookletfinal250913(2)221013.pdf
Teachers are invited to email WFD@agriculture.gov.ie to request hard copies of this booklet.
