As we are being reminded by Annika Söder, Assistant Secretary-General of the FAO, “hunger is a problem that has too often been ignored.” At a time when food insecurity now affects almost one in six persons in the world, the FAO is launching on May 11 a global communication effort to bring the world’s attention to the issue: The 1billionhungry project.

It consists in a worldwide petition drive to refute the inacceptable reality of one billion hungry people and to lobby political leaders. As of today, one can sign the petition on the Web (www.1billionhungry.org), ), an appeal that will also be relayed by other traditional dissemination and information means: television, radio, advertising posters and spaces…

In addition to these media messages, several small events will be organized in certain cities1and will include press coverage. In Paris, on May 11 at 11AM on the Trocadéro Human Rights Plaza, the FAO will host a gathering of school children, students, members and activists from various associations, as well as others concerned by such disaster, for a short awareness program to be covered by the press. The event will include a declaration and a short presentation of the state of food insecurity in the world.

1 Yokohama, Paris, Madrid, Santiago, Stockholm, Bangkok, Lisbon, New York, Berlin and Rome