The Directorate General for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) is organising two summer schools for primary and middle school pupils (6 to 10 July) and secondary school pupils (13 to 17 July). The initiative is one of the events organised for EXPO Milan 2015 and the European Year of Development, which places a special emphasis on training young people for global citizenship. The summer schools, which will take place in the “Future Food District”, are being staged in collaboration with the University of Bologna, CO-OP, ENEA and the UN agencies belonging to the food and agricultural “hub” in Rome.
The aim is to raise the young people’s awareness of food issues and the role of Development Cooperation in the sphere of food security.
During the week, the pupils will have an opportunity to attend morning lessons on topical issues linked to the EXPO theme, such as food security and combating waste, sustainable agriculture, the “land to plate” food chain (from wheat seeds to flour to bread); and the relationships between food, water and energy, female empowerment, biodiversity and fair trade.
The young people will also have a chance to visit the supermarket of the future: an experimental space enabling new forms of interaction between consumers, producers and products.
Afternoons will be spent putting the lessons learned into practice. Interactive displays, practical demonstrations, photos and easy-to-understand documents will give pupils an insight into the dynamics linked to food, food security and the major global problems that we are all-too-often witness.
The young people will also visit the 9 clusters. Here too, through interactive presentations and demonstrations, they will be able to explore the worlds of rice, cocoa and chocolate, coffee, or the world’s arid lands and biodiversity.
Journalists, photographers and TV crews interested in following the event should first obtain accreditation for EXPO 2015 at least 2.3 working days before arrival, using the link: https://accreditation.expo2015.org/mediahome.aspx?lang=IT.
They should then apply for accreditation with the Ministry by sending an email to dgcs.eventi@esteri.it
