The 3rd International Seminar on Good Practices in School Feeding in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) will take place in São Tomé and Príncipe on December 3 and 4. And on December 5, the World Food Program (WFP) will hold a High-Level Conference to present the Global School Meals Coalition, with the aim of integrating the CPLP into the initiative.
São Tomé and Príncipe currently holds the presidency of the CPLP under the slogan “Youth and Sustainability in the CPLP”. The Conference, the result of a deliberation at the XIV Technical Meeting of the CPLP Education Focal Points (held in February 2024 in São Tomé), will be attended by education ministers from the nine CPLP member states and representatives from the United Nations, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the National Education Development Fund (FNDE) and other partners.
During the two-day Seminar preceding the Conference, the guests will take part in four panels and two round tables to discuss topics related to school feeding programs, such as school gardens, school feeding with local products, training for professionals working in the programs, among others.
Among those taking part in the seminar will be three finalists from the reality TV show Vida de Merendeira, Josefa Graciene Ribeiro, from Alagoas; Leila Espinoza, from Mato Grosso; and Sarah Jane Ribeiro, from Minas Gerais, as well as nutritionists Janaína Barbosa, Elianne Arruda and Marcelia Prado.
The event will also feature a gastronomic showcase of dishes offered in São Tomé and Príncipe’s school canteens, using local products, which should be held on the day of the Conference, during lunchtime.
At the end of the third day of activities, there will also be a parallel event with the winning cooks and nutritionists from the reality TV show Vida de Merendeira, with the aim of valuing these professionals, promoting the exchange of knowledge between the countries, discussing food and nutrition education actions through school menus and the importance of food from family farming and the role of the cook in this process.
WFP and the CPLP
Since 2018, when the Seminar was held in Salvador, Brazil, the World Food Program (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger has been participating in CPLP discussions related to school feeding and encouraging countries to exchange experiences and good practices on this public policy that contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The countries that make up the CPLP are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor.