IPPC at EXPO Milan 2015!

Milan, Italy, will become a global showcase with Expo Milano 2015: from May 1 to October 31 more than 140 participating countries will show the best of their technology that offers a concrete answer to a vital need: being able to guarantee healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, while respecting the Planet and its equilibrium. In addition to the exhibitor nations, the Expo also involves international organizations, and expects to welcome over 20 million visitors to its 1.1 million square meters of exhibition area.

Expo Milano 2015 falls in a crucial year for the United Nations: not only will we review overall progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (the first of which is to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger), but the new Post-2015 Development Agenda will also be adopted. Expo Milano s theme, feeding the planet, energy for life will provide an ideal opportunity to foster dialogue and raise public awareness about food security and nutrition, rural development and the sustainable management of natural resources. In order to maximize this impact, the UN has chosen the theme The Zero Hunger Challenge ? United for a sustainable world, to make visitors understand that together we can build a world where everyone has access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food, and can lead a healthy and productive life without compromising the needs of future generations.

On 14 July 2015, the IPPC has been invited to deliver the key note speech for the Conference on Climate change and food security: challenges for plant health, plant breeding and genetic resources, organized by the European Commission in the framework of the Milan Expo.

The IPPC Coordinator, Craig Fedchock, will talk about the impact of climate change, emerging risks and plant diseases on food security. This is one of the initiatives that the IPPC Secretariat is undertaking in support of the proclamation of an International Year of Plant Health. The conference falls under the umbrella of a series of events throughout a week dedicated to Plant Health and Biotechnologies, and it is aimed at promoting the long term sustainability of the food chain to ensure food security.

You can now register for the event here, while the draft programme is available here.