Between December 9 and 12, 2024, the Global Child Nutrition Forum (GCNF) will take place in Osaka, Japan, with the theme “School Feeding Programs in the Era of Food System Transformation.”
The event will feature over 70 leaders and experts in school feeding, along with around 450 participants from around the world, engaging in four days of plenary meetings and technical workshops for the exchange of experiences.
School feeding on the global agenda and domestic financing are among the topics to be addressed at the event, which will also highlight climate, nutritional, and gender issues related to school feeding.
The Forum, which occurs every two years, aims in 2024 to serve as an international platform for governments and their partners to learn and exchange experiences on creating, maintaining, and expanding high-quality school feeding programs. It will also showcase Japan’s experiences with school feeding programs. In this regard, a field visit to a Japanese school is planned to observe the implementation of school feeding activities in the country.
The Brazilian government will present at specific moments during the plenary session of the event. Saulo Ceolin, coordinator of Food and Nutritional Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will speak about the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Brazilian government policies to combat hunger. The president of the National School Feeding Fund, Fernanda Pacobahyba, will address the financing model of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE).
Co-organizer of the Forum from 2013 to 2019, the WFP Center of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil is responsible for the workshop “Creating Demand for Nutritious and Climate-Smart Foods Through School Feeding Based on Local Purchases,” which aims to explore models of school feeding linked to local agriculture in various contexts, focusing on intersectoral collaboration.
Participating countries in the workshop will exchange knowledge about school feeding practices linked to agriculture and their diverse implementation strategies, as well as develop critical analysis skills through theoretical discussions and group dynamics to build solutions.
Throughout the event, the results of the Global School Feeding Programs Survey will be presented, and trends and innovations relevant to school feeding programs in the near future will be discussed.
Daniel Balaban, director of the WFP Center of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, will deliver the closing speech. As a result of the dialogues and exchanges of experiences fostered at the Forum, a document with recommendations for governments, private initiatives, and all stakeholders involved in child nutrition and school feeding will be released.