In celebration of World Food Day on Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, UNSW is excited to host an online forum. This event aims to bring together diverse perspectives to share ideas on global food system innovation, aligning with the FAO's slogan, "Leave no one behind." The forum will feature four presentations by highly accomplished experts in the field, followed by an open panel discussion. We encourage anyone interested to join in on this free event.
Experts
Florence EGAL- International expert, Sustainable diets and food systems transformation.
Emmanuel SKOUFIAS - National University of Singapore
Kalana PEIRIS - United Nations World Food Programme in Sri Lanka
Sakile KUDITA - IFPRI, HarvestPlus and Wageningen University & Research
Angela KEARNEY- UNICEF Country Representative, Papua New Guinea
For further information regarding this event please contact:
Jayashree ARCOT- j.arcot@unsw.edu.au
Johannes LE COUTRE - johannes.lecoutre@unsw.edu.au
Florence Egal is a Medical Doctor with a Master’s in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a food security, nutrition and livelihoods expert. She spent most of her career in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and started working on urban-related issues in the early 90s. She eventually became the co-secretary of the Food for Cities initiative in FAO until her retirement from the organization in 2013. Since then, she has pursued the promotion of sustainable diets and food systems through a variety of networks and initiatives. She co-led the technical assistance team to the municipality of Milan within the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact process and is presently assisting UN-Habitat in the preparation of guiding principles for urban-rural linkages.
Emmanuel earned a B.A. from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota. He began his academic career at Penn State and the University of Colorado before joining the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in 1998, where he led the evaluation of Mexico’s PROGRESA program. From 2004 to 2022, he worked as a Lead Economist at the World Bank, focusing on poverty and equity across Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. His work specializes in using microdata to analyze poverty, household welfare, risk management, and the impacts of climate change on welfare. Emmanuel has published over 65 peer-reviewed papers and two books two books, one on child stunting and another on the poverty impacts of climate change.
Kalana Peiris is a leading figure at the United Nations World Food Programme in Sri Lanka, specializing in the intersection of nutrition, resilience, and agriculture. His recent work includes evaluating the impacts of resilience programs aimed at improving the livelihoods and diet quality of rural farming communities. Kalana has contributed to several key projects that assess food security, particularly within the context of climate shocks and social protection. His focus is on strengthening food systems to enhance both nutritional outcomes and community resilience.
Sakile Kudita has more than 20 years’ experience working at the nexus of agribusiness, seed systems, food security and nutrition. Before joining HarvestPlus, she worked as a seed expert at CTDO during which time she helped establish a farmer seed enterprise now operating as Champion Farmer Seeds. She has also worked as a regional gene bank manager at ICRISAT and also as a research officer at CIMMYT. Sakile holds a BSc Degree in Crop Science, from the University of Zimbabwe, a Masters in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology from the National University of Science and Technology, and an MBA from the same university. She is also currently studying towards a PhD at Wageningen University with her research focused on upgrading traditional processing of fermented cereals for improved nutrition and health.
Angela Kearney is currently serving as the UNICEF Representative a.i. in Papua New Guinea, overseeing critical humanitarian efforts in the country. With extensive experience in child protection and emergency response, she plays a key role in coordinating UNICEF’s interventions, particularly in the wake of crises such as natural disasters and tribal violence. Her recent efforts include leading emergency responses to landslides and working to provide psychosocial support and essential services to children affected by violence and displacement. Kearney’s work ensures that UNICEF's core commitments to children are met across Papua New Guinea, focusing on health, education, and child protection.
