To facilitate preparations for the Food Systems Summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the process that will be used to gather information on best practices and initiatives, provide guidance and feedback, and generate champions and support to implement the Summit’s outcomes and recommendations. The UN Secretary-General, in collaboration with the UN Rome-based Agencies, will convene the Food Systems Summit in 2021. 

The Summit will contribute to the Decade of Action to deliver the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will seek to raise awareness of global food systems challenges, build a global conversation on the way in which food in produced, processed, and consumed, and generate commitment to change our food systems to provide safe, nutritious food for all within planetary boundaries.

As announced on 29 June 2020, the process will be led by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Agnes Kalibata. The process will be informed by global conversations and will build on existing global events, agreements, collaborations, and platforms such as the Committee on World Food Security. 

A multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee will provide strategic guidance and feedback on the Summit’s overall development and implementation and will be chaired by the UN Deputy Secretary-General. The Advisory Committee will comprise Member State representatives, senior officials of relevant UN agencies and other international organizations, and individual experts representing a variety of stakeholders.

The Secretary-General also established several support mechanisms on 29 June 2020, the heads of which will participate in the Advisory Committee. The support mechanisms include an independent Scientific Group, a system-wide UN Task Force, and an open Champions Network. 

The Scientific Group will bring scientific evidence to the preparations and will seek to expand the base of shared knowledge about experiences, approaches, and tools for driving sustainable food systems. This Group will be chaired by Joachim von Braun, University of Bonn, Germany.

The UN Task Force will ensure that the Summit builds on the knowledge and unique capabilities of the UN system to deliver on this agenda beyond the Summit. This Task Force will be chaired by the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen. 

The Champions Network will aim to mobilize stakeholders from a wide number of constituencies that make up the food system to champion food systems transformation. More information on this Network will be shared in the coming weeks.