2000, INTERNATIONAL YEAR FOR THE CULTURE OF PEACE

4° International Well Being

Symposium

"Towards Food Security for All"

November 26-28, 1999, Cagliari,

Sardinia

We met from November 26-28, 1999 in Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy) as participants in the Fourth International Well Being Symposium "Towards Food Security for All". In attendance were representatives of UN agencies, members of the FAO Network of Centres of Excellence of Food Quality, Safety and Nutrition, national officials, scholars, teachers and trainers, journalists, artists, and experts in various fields, coming from 4 continents: Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Adopting as our guideline the UN 1999 General Assembly's Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, point 16g: “Discourage the adoption of and refrain from any unilateral measure,... that hinders their well-being, that creates obstacles to the full enjoyment of their human rights, including the right of everyone to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being and their right to food, medical care and the necessary social services, while reaffirming food and medicine must not be used as a tool for political pressure”; and

Taking in consideration the UNDP 1999 Human Development Report on Globalization with Human Face, which, among others, states that: “strong policy action is needed nationally and internationally to ensure that the new rules of globalization are framed to turn the new technologies towards people's needs”; and

Taking in consideration the FAO 1999 report on The State of Food Insecurity in the World, about the progress made toward the 1996 World Food Summit's aim of halving the number of undernourished people in the world by 2015: “The current rate of progress – an average reduction of around 8 million a year – falls squarely within the trajectory of “business as usual”. If the pace is not stepped up, more than 600 million people will still go to sleep hungry in the developing countries in 2015”; and

Calling for attention that food has significance beyond its nutritional value and that poverty, food insecurity, poor unhealthy environments, lack of education, and social discrimination are the major causes undermining the development of a Culture of Peace;

WE ISSUE THE 1999 WELL BEING OPEN CALL

to stress the need to achieving food security and well being for all.

We strongly recommend:

1. Improvements in alleviating poverty, hunger and malnutrition can only be sustained if social, economic and environmental concerns are appropriately addressed concurrently. It is the essence of a sustainable development and the basis of a “Culture of Peace” for the benefit of all.

1. Ensuring food security and food safety: As the world's population of six billion continues to grow by almost 80 million people a year, significant increases in the size and diversity of food supplies in low-income food deficit countries are required if widespread hunger and malnutrition are to be averted.

1. Just expanding food supplies will not be sufficient; the primary challenge is to improve the poor's access to nutritionally adequate and safe food and to see that they have the time, skills and resources needed to make the best use of their food to meet their nutritional needs. Food insecurity cannot be treated in isolation of other related considerations. Providers and care givers must have the time, knowledge and motivation to ensure that the rights and needs of all household members are satisfied with dignity and respect.

1. Consumer education and awareness about basic nutritional needs and food composition is essential for making informed selections about food consumption and is thus an important prerequisite for nutritional well-being.

1. As the production, acquisition, preparation, eating and sharing of food have strong social and cultural significance, it is necessary to understand and appreciate the importance of traditional foods, traditional food processing technologies and to protect the cultural diversity of food habits.

1. The full participation of local communities in decisions that affect their ability to acquire and utilize food effectively is crucial for achieving improvements in their food, nutrition and other basic needs on a sustainable basis. Concerted and targeted actions are essential to reduce poverty, promote agricultural development, strengthen food systems and improve access to educational opportunities and other nutritional and social services.

Upon these recommendations,

We have taken the commitment to support the organization of the 5^th Well Being Symposium on "Culture of Peace" as a global communication cross-cultural peace event to be hosted by the Republic of Senegal and cooperatively organized by the Minister of Culture of Senegal, the Mayor of Gorèe, and the Organizing Committee of the Consortium for the Well Being in the XXI Century, on December 10, 2000, International Human Rights Day, in the Island of Gorèe (Senegal), site of the historical House of the Slaves, on the occasion of the International Year for the Culture of Peace.

To this end,

we invite you to join with us in this Open Call

This document is issued on November 28, 1999, in Calamosca, Cagliari, Italy