QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) underlined the importance of innovative
partnerships, especially with academic institutions, in helping to
promote global food security, as he addressed a Graduation Day ceremony
at the University of Siena.

�??Fostering innovative partnerships for a food secure world is a top
priority for the United Nations, as set out in the 2030 Agenda and its
17Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
[www.fao.org], Qu
said. The priority is �??embedded in theFAO Strategic Framework 2022-31
[www.fao.org],
which will guide our work over the next decade,�?� he added.

To reach this goal, �??we need to build stronger, more strategic
partnerships with civil society organizations, parliamentarians,
Indigenous Peoples, academia and research institutions, and the private
sector, and especially with the youth - and all of you!�?� the FAO
Director-General said.

Academic and research institutions are critical partners in this area. 
FAO is currently collaborating with over 80 of them worldwide, 10 of
which are in Italy.

Also participating in the graduation ceremony were Luigi de Mossi, Mayor
of Siena, Ambassador Stefano Gatti, Special Envoy for Food Security, at
the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,
Professor Francesco Frati, Rector of the University of Siena and
Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development
Solutions Network. Sachs also received an honorary degree from the
university as part of the celebration.

FAO has a Memorandum of Understanding with thePRIMA Foundation
[prima-med.org], a network of research and innovation
institutions involving 19 countries in the Mediterranean that promotes
innovation, research, technology transfer and training support.

The University of Siena is at the heart of this, serving as the host of
the Italian Secretariat of the PRIMA Foundation.

The FAO Director-General announced that as part of the campaign
�??Together for the SDGs�??, FAO is launching a web App called�??Urban
Actions�?� [urbanactions-fao.orpheo.app] inspire
the public, especially young people, to learn about the 2030 Agenda and
how they can help achieve the global goals in their own city.

Qu encouraged the new graduates to download theApp from a �??SDGs Wall�??
<[urbanactions-fao.orpheo.app] has been in
place in Siena for the last few days, and learn about the specific
actions they can take.

�??Together, we can make our urban areas more inclusive, safe, green and
resilient to ensure they work with nature, and improve city living.�?�

He said Siena was making great efforts to be a sustainable city,
demonstrating a balanced approach to protecting the local environment
while stimulating economic growth through good urban planning, land
usage, and rural and urban development.

Qu also invited his young audience to participate in theWorld Food Forum
[www.world-food-forum.org] be held from 17-21 October at FAO
headquarters in Rome.  It is the second of its kind, which will be
entirely focused on empowering young people to actively shape our
agrifood systems and achieve the SDGs, the Director-General said.

[www.fao.org]