AUR has a long history of involvement with WFP. We regularly welcome guest speakers from the Organization, our students undertake internships at its headquarters in Rome, and we are proud to have seen ten of our graduates go on to assume roles within the Organization. We also count among our faculty a former Senior Officer of WFP.
WFP’s mission has had a direct influence on the development of our Master of Arts programs in Food Studies and Peace Studies. Their efforts to address the causes of world hunger and promote food sustainability are precisely the fields in which we prepare our graduates to make meaningful contributions in their future careers.
Coincidentally, on the eve of the award announcement, AUR’s MA in Food Studies students were welcoming guest speakers Natalie Ching (AUR alumna) and Katharina Weltecke from the World Food Programme in Rome. Natalie and Katharina presented some of the new initiatives currently undertaken by the Organization, including the app ShareTheMeal, which allows users to ‘share their meal’ with children in need for just US$0.80. This struck a chord with our students as they appreciated the way in which it enables everyone to get involved in the work of the WFP.
ShareTheMeal raises funds to feed people in need and in so doing contributes to the Organization’s ultimate goal of a world with zero hunger. Users can choose where their donation will be directed, and with a quick tap on the app they give US$0.80 (or more). The United Nations World Food Programme receives the funds and provides the meals. In the app, users are shown how the money they donate becomes meals, and how those meals are fighting hunger.
Currently, over 85 million meals have been shared. You can learn more and download the app at https://sharethemeal.org/en/
The 2020 Nobel Prize Committee stated their wish
“to emphasise that providing assistance to increase food security not only prevents hunger but can also help to improve prospects for stability and peace ... With this year’s award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to turn the eyes of the world towards the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger. The World Food Programme plays a key role in multilateral cooperation on making food security an instrument of peace, and has made a strong contribution towards mobilising UN Member States to combat the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”
AUR offers its continued and wholehearted support of the WFP’s efforts and takes heed of its reminder that food security and peace are intrinsically linked and that international solidarity and multilateral cooperation are key to humankind and its coexistence with the earth’s ecosystems.
Congratulations again to the United Nations World Food Programme.