Challenging Times of Poly Crises
Armed conflicts, pandemics, climate-related extreme weather, rising inequalities: the obstacles to win the fight against hunger seem unconquerable. The Zero Hunger goal (SDG2) by 2030 seems increasingly out of reach as almost 800 million people suffer from hunger and three billion people are unable to access a healthy diet. Nevertheless, activists, smallholder farmers, consumers, humanitarians and policymakers all over the world are fighting for change and a world without hunger. During the Human Rights Forum, we will provide a platform for networking and exchanging on joint synergies in these challenging times of poly crises. The role of food systems transformation and the right to food as well as humanitarian questions around gender empowerment and anticipatory action will shape the hybrid discussions. Join us in the Good Fight against Hunger!
October 17, 2023
Deep Dive I: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (CEST)
Deep Dive II: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM (CEST)
Dokumentationszentrum Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung
Stresemannstraße 90, 10963 Berlin
Deep Dives
17 October 2023, 10-12am CET
Dokumentationszentrum Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung, Stresemannstr. 90, 10963 Berlin
Online participation possible
When climate-related disasters hit, women, children, elderly people and persons with disabilities are particularly at risk: their needs are often neglected in risk analysis and response planning, and they are frequently marginalised in decision-making processes despite their potential contributions to resilience. To make inclusion and resilience a reality in the humanitarian system, we need a paradigm shift towards transformative approaches. The German government is currently at the forefront in advancing anticipatory action and launched their feminist foreign policy approach, hence this round table will explore how political visions and reality can come closer together for zero hunger. How can donors, governments and implementing organisations ensure gender inclusion at all stages of the early warning and anticipatory action continuum? This roundtable will bring humanitarian experts together to explore pathways for supporting women as change agents in times of climate crisis. Audrey Oettli, co-chair of the Anticipation Hub working group “Gender, Protection and Inclusion”, Konstantin Klammert, desk officer on anticipatory humanitarian action at the GFFO, and Tapan Kumar Chakraborty, deputy country director of ACF Bangladesh, will join the exchange as speakers. The keynote will be held by Fatima Halima Ahmed, who is part of the implementation of the anticipatory action project “STEP Bangladesh”.
The following experts will join the roundtable discussion:
- Katrin von der Dellen, Team Lead Project Development & Donor Engagement, CARE Germany
- Bärbel Mosebach, Humanitarian Director, Welthungerhilfe
- Goda Milasiute, Research Fellow, Center for Humanitarian Action (CHA)
- Dr. Andrea Steinke, Research Fellow, Center for Humanitarian Action (CHA)
- Stefanie Lux, FbF Coordination, German Red Cross
- Chris Coulter, Deputy Executive Director, Berghof Foundation
- Anna Hauschild, Research Assistant, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
- Simon Levine, Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
- Tanit Iglesias Zayas, Gender and Protection Advisor, ACF France
- Maud Bellon, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, ACF France
- Amina Mohamed, Regional Gender, GBV and Protection Advisor, ACF Regional Office West and Central Africa
- Alisa Keesey, Programme Director, GiveLove Foundation
- Hannah Jay, Consultant
17 October 2023, 1-3pm CET
Dokumentationszentrum Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung, Stresemannstr. 90, 10963 Berlin
Online participation possible
The global industrial food system is failing on several fronts: it causes a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and severe environmental destruction, while violating the right to adequate food for those three billion people who cannot access a healthy diet. Smallholder farmers are left vulnerable to exploitation and debt due to the market dominance of agribusiness, and cash crops have undermined domestic food production in the global South. At this roundtable, researcher Emile Frison, member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES Food) will present these challenges from a global perspective, and we will discuss how the system can transition from its unsustainable, unhealthy and unjust status quo towards healthy diets for all. How can food sovereignty be implemented as a guiding principle for food systems transformation, and what practical examples can we learn from? Speakers include Swantje Nilsson, Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture, John Otieno from the Action Against Hunger Horn and Eastern Africa Regional Office, as well as Paula Gioia of La Via Campesina.
The following experts will join the roundtable discussion:
- Felipe Campelo, Landless Workers’ Movement (MST)
- Savio Carvalho, Global Campaign Lead (Biodiversity), Greenpeace International
- Dr. Daniela de Ridder, Member of the German Bundestag (SPD)
- Dr. Martin Frick, Director of Berlin office, World Food Programme
- Lena Luig, Head of International Agricultural Policy Division, Heinrich Böll Stiftung
- Dr. Lisa Murken, Leader of the Working Group Adaptation in Agricultural Systems, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
- Chengeto Muzira, ZIMSOFF/La Via Campesina
- Alisa Keesey, Programme Director, GiveLove Foundation
- Juan Carlos Mendoza, Director, Environment, Climate and Social Inclusion, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- Kathrin Weny, Policy Officer, German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
SPEAKER DEEP DIVE I
Niklas Balbon
Niklas Balbon
Niklas Balbon is a research associate with the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. His current research explores feminist perspectives for supporting Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion. His research interests include the intersection of gender and conflict, post-war development and feminist analyses of (post-) war economies. Previously, he conducted field research on gender relations in post-war Kosovo and co-authored a study on the Donbas war, focusing on social cohesion in eastern Ukraine prior to 2022. Niklas holds a master's degree in conflict, security and development from Kings's College London and a bachelor's degree in political science from Freie Universität Berlin.
Fatima Halima Ahmed
Fatima Halima Ahmed
Fatima Halima Ahmed has extensive experience in the development sector. After engaging with research activities, she joined at the Bangladesh National Preparatory Committee for the Beijing NGO Forum '95 and after that a national and international level network named Disaster Forum. Since 1999 she has been working in Uttaran, a grassroots organization where she is responsible for resource mobilization. This allowed her to transcend the boundaries of a single sector, while interacting with national and international stakeholders. From championing gender equity, climate change and humanitarian response, advocating for land rights, Fatima embraces a holistic approach to driving lasting change.
Konstantin Klammert
Konstantin Klammert
Konstantin started working at the German Federal Foreign Office in summer 2022. As a desk officer on disaster preparedness and anticipatory humanitarian action, he also works on the interface between humanitarian assistance and the impacts of climate change.
Audrey Oettli
Audrey Oettli
Audrey Oettli works for the global Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI) team of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world's largest humanitarian network. Her work concentrates on improving the protection of individuals in vulnerable situations, and supporting humanitarian programming to be gender-sensitive and responsive to the needs and following the leadership of those most affected. She focuses notably on child protection, safeguarding and child participation in emergency preparedness and response, and co-leads the interagency Working Group on Protection, Gender and Inclusion in Anticipatory Action.
Tapan Kumar Chakraborty
Tapan Kumar Chakraborty
Tapan Kumar Chakraborty is the Deputy Country Director of Action Against Hunger Bangladesh. He oversees ACF Bangladesh's country programs with more than 30 years of experience in the humanitarian & development sector. He has extensive experience in the field of Food Security, Livelihoods, Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience and Disaster Risk Management with a focus on forecast based Anticipatory Action program for ACF, with locally led and inclusive approach and active engagement of most vulnerable communities, especially women and other excluded groups. He promotes impact based forecasting and sector specific anticipatory action in order to save lives, livelihoods and productive assets.
SPEAKER DEEP DIVE II
Christine Mhundwa
Christine Mhundwa
Christine Mhundwa is a journalist who has covered current affairs, politics, and financial markets in sub-saharan Africa and Europe. Mhundwa has worked for organisations including CNBC Africa and Bloomberg and is currently based between Berlin where she represents Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle's (DW) flagship Africa bulletin and general news, and Brussels where she reports as a Europe Correspondent. Mhundwa has specialised reporting knowledge in the field of European-African policy, affairs, and partnership.
Emile Antoine Frison
Emile Antoine Frison
Emile Frison is a member of the international panel of experts on sustainable food systems (IPES-Food), an expert on conservation and agricultural biodiversity, and one of the founders and senior advisor of the Agroecology Coalition. He was formerly the director general of Bioversity International, a global non-profit research-for-development organization to safeguard agricultural biodiversity. A Belgian national, he has spent most of his career in international agricultural research for development.
Swantje Nilsson
Swantje Nilsson
Ms. Nilsson has been an employee of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) for more than 20 years and has worked in various technical and international areas. After working as a desk officer, she was later head of unit in several departments, among those the "International Food and Agriculture Organizations, World Food Security, Sustainable Development" or the "Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection" unit at the Permanent Mission to the FAO. Since February 2022, Ms. Nilsson has headed the Department for International Cooperation, EU Affairs and Fisheries at BMEL.
Paula Gioia
Paula Gioia
Paula Gioia (they/them) grew up in Brazil and later became a peasant farmer and beekeeper in Germany. They now live on a collective farm in Brandenburg and are a member of the farmer's association AbL e.V. and of the European Coordination Via Campesina. Paula advocates for the rights of peasants (UNDROP), for agroecology and the realization of food sovereignty. A queer-feminist approach is always in their political work. Paula currently represents peasant farmers in the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
John Otieno
John Otieno
John Otieno Otieno is a regional advocacy officer at the Action Against Hunger regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a is a trained nutritionist with 14 years of experience and has previously worked as Food and Nutrition Manager at FEED The Children Kenya coordinating nutrition programs. He now leads Action Against Hunger’s efforts to influence policies and build relationships with governments and decision makers on humanitarian and development issues, and oversees the development and implementation of advocacy strategies in the region.
