Kick-Off FNS Excellence Programme!
On World Food Day 2019 (October 16, 2019) the Food & Nutrition Security Excellence Programme kicked off. All participating students gathered at the SmaakPark in Ede to get to know each other and the embassies providing the challenges. They gained more understanding of the case they are going to work on and received a first masterclass on designing workplans. In the afternoon they could join the Youth World Food Day or the Professionals World Food Day event.
The kick-off of the FNS Excellence programme started with an introduction game for the students to get to know each other. Thereafter, the students were briefed on the set/up and aim of the FNS Excellence Programme and its organizing parties. The two Dutch embassies (of Burundi and Kenya) providing the case studies, introduced themselves, their work and the assignment via a video.
Terms of Reference and Workplan
The assignments of both embassies were provided to the students in the form of a Terms of Reference (ToR). Hilde van Dijkhorst, from MDF Training and Consultancy, gave the first masterclass for the students. The masterclass focussed on how to work with a ToR and how to design a workplan based on this ToR. Students were divided in different groups and had to discuss together the main objectives of the ToR, brainstorm on concrete activities that lead to fulfilling the objectives and start with the design of a workplan in a creative way.
In the coming weeks, the students will start writing their workplan. During this process they will be coached by FNS experts of Fair and Sustainable and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform.
World Food Day
In the afternoon the students had the opportunity to either join the Youth World Food Day or the Professional World Food Day event “Circular Economy for Food Security”.
At the professionals event, students were attending sessions where Dutch FNS experts discussed issues on food losses, the land, information technology, the city, the plate or trade, in relation with circular economy for food security. Also the closing ceremony, with representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and networks drinks were open for the students to attend.
The students who joined the Youth World Food Day were challenged to brainstorm over food losses and waste. Various Skype calls with youth from all around the world were set up to talk about preventing food losses in the chain of food production; in the harvest process and the rest streams.
I am happy to see Kenyan students participate in this program. I believe this effort will further strengthen the links already thriving between VIred international and UvA; UNESCO-IHE & other key partners in the Netherlands and help solve th food and nutrition jinx existing in Africa.
Jbo