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On the occasion of the fourth observance of
World Bee Day,
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organizing an online event on 20 May 2021 under the theme
Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees.
The high-level gathering will be formally opened by the FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and will focus on the important role that bees and other pollinators play in delivering
ecosystems services, food security, nutrition and livelihoods.
Speakers will call for global cooperation and solidarity to counter the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to food security and agricultural livelihoods
alongside prioritizing environmental regeneration and pollinator protection.
It will be an occasion to raise awareness of how everyone can make a difference
to support, restore and enhance the role of pollinators – and consequently, the millions of livelihoods they, in turn, support.
Three out of four food crop types across the globe depend on pollinators to
some degree. However, today bees, pollinators and many other insects are
declining in abundance. At the same time, the global food economy is showing
striking increases in demand for pollination services, especially in
developing countries.
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What:
World Bee Day -
virtual celebration
When: Thursday,
20 May 2020,
13:00-14:45 (Rome time)
Who: QU Dongyu,
Director-General, FAO
Jože Podgoršek, Minister for Agriculture,
Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia
Julia Klöckner,
Federal Minister for Food and
Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Germany
Zagdjav Mendsaikhan, Minister for Food,
Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia
Dr Taïga, Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and
Animal Industries of the Republic of Cameroon
David Cooper, Deputy Executive Secretary,
United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity
Where: Zoom
or
Webcast
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The interventions will be followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between FAO and Apimondia (the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations).
A wide-ranging technical discussion will follow involving addresses given by
• Olivier
Badibanga, Managing Director of API-CONGO of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Jane
Stout, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College, Dublin
• Meriem
Hammal, a beekeeper from Algeria
• Lucas
Garibaldi, Director, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Argentina
• Phrang
Roy, Coordinator, Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty, and Founding Chairman, North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society, India.
There will be a special update on the World Bee Count and AI-Driven Climate-Smart Beekeeping by
Max Rünzel,
HiveTracks CEO and World Bee Count Project Coordinator, USA.
A question-and-answer session will follow (journalists are invited to participate) and
Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General, will close the formal observance.
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RESOURCES
World Bee Day
Live Zoom/Webcast
13.00-14.45 CEST, 20 May
Agenda
Zoom
Webcast
Social Media Assets
Get Involved Guide
Join the conversation on Twitter
#WorldBeeDay
#Savethebees
World Bee Day events are planned across the globe –
with special FAO events taking place in Washington and New
York.
For further information:
FAO Media Relations
[log in to unmask]
(+39) 06 570 53625
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