Empowering National Convenors towards 2025 - systems leaders for transformative action

Wednesday, 26th July, 11:00-12:30

In this session, National Convenors will take centre stage, sharing their experiences and insights from being at the forefront of driving forward the outcomes of the 2021 UNFSS. They will shed light on the actions needed to sustain the momentum and accelerate the pace of transformation until the UNFSS+4 in 2025. This interactive session will facilitate engagement among the Convenors themselves and with the audience, and provide an opportunity to lucidly reflect on progress, enduring challenges, effective strategies, and identify specific support and resources required to be adequately capacitated to continue to advance the priorities outlined in National Pathways.

158 National Convenors, nominated by their national governments, resulted in 120 national pathways. These Convenors coordinate efforts in country. This is not an easy role, and in many cases Convenors find it challenging to translate a food systems approach into concrete actions. Looking towards 2025, Convenors will continue to play a critical role, as ambassadors for food systems transformation, and for operationalising outcomes. They will also consider how food interacts with other nexus issues, like climate change. We need to hear directly from them so the ecosystem of support can respond more effectively to their specific needs.

In this interactive session, National Convenors will share what they need to fulfil their roles. Convenors will be invited to reflect on their experience to date (looking back), but also what they need to deliver upon on their pathway priorities (looking forward). Using intelligence from the Voluntary Progress Reports and their pathways, National Convenors will be invited to speak to a specific outcome, a priority or a challenge. In this way, the session becomes a learning space where best practice can be shared, and new connections created.

To promote action at scale National Convenors need sufficient agency to navigate complex institutional dynamics. These Convenors regularly articulate the value of learning from each other, especially if they face similar challenges. The expected outcomes are:

Empowerment of National Convenors in UNFSS+2 follow-up and connecting with other nexus themes.
Clarification of the expected role and transformative instruments of the National Convenor and other key stakeholders to enhance their legitimacy and ownership.
A sense of community among National Convenors.
Perspectives of National Convenors to inform the UNFSSS+2 outcome document.