The first important message that came out from the 8th MUFPP Global Forum in Rio de Janeiro is that cities are active and engaged in the effort of fighting climate change through food system transformation.
With more than 250 practices collected by the MUFPP Secretariat from April to June 2022, this 6th edition of the Milan Pact Awards turns out to be one of the most participated ones. This clearly shows once again the increasing importance of food policies in the mayoral agendas.
“Finally we can award the Milan Pact cities for their innovative actions in the food system and with this edition of the Milan Pact Awards, new interesting trends emerged from urban contexts that today more than ever need to face the challenge of a sustainable future. We are very proud of the participation and we hope it will be of support to our community of cities. A special thank you to the City of Rio that welcomes us and for the first time hosts a MUFPP Global Forum in South America” said Ms Scavuzzo, Vicemayor of Milan.
More than 60 cities have presented a practice for the first time, showing that year after year, all MUFPP members are increasingly feeling the need to share their experiences and challenges with the network.
The Milan Pact Awards was launched in 2016 by the City of Milan and the Cariplo Foundation, and still is the most powerful tool to innovate the food policies of the 250 signatory cities from all around the world.
Giovanni Fosti, President of Cariplo Foundation affirms “We have supported the Secretariat of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact since its inception, convinced that to innovate it is essential to stimulate and connect experiences. The results presented and the extraordinary participation in the Rio event confirm that working together is the way to combat food poverty, the development of proper food education and the reduction of waste: all elements that aim to improve quality of life and health of individuals, in an inclusive way and with a view to environmental sustainability”.
“The Milan Pact deals with hunger, but also with changes in food production processes. It is an honor for us to host an international event that deals with such an important topic. With Prato Feito Carioca, with the Carioca Community Kitchens, we are seeking to expand public policy for those who need it. And we also have a very important program, Hortas Cariocas, which we are expanding” – said Eduardo Paes, Major of Rio de Janeiro.
The international Evaluation Committee of experts assessed the practices and awarded 6 cities with the highest score in each category of the Milan Pact: Governance, Sustainable Diets & Nutrition, Social & Economic Equity, Food Production, Food Supply & Distribution and Food Waste.
The winners of Milan Pact Awards 2022 have been:
- Governance: NEW YORK (US) – A New York City Framework for Good Food Purchasing
- Sustainable Diets & Nutrition: ADDIS ABABA (Ethiopia) – Addis Ababa school feeding program
- Social & Economic Equity: ROURKELA (India) – E-Cool Mandi
- Food Production: ROSARIO (Argentina) – Agro-ecological food production in Rosario
- Food Supply & Distribution: YEOSU (South Korea) – Strategy for securing our talents and small farms
- Food Waste: LONDON (UK) – London’s food waste reduction programme
Considering the impressive number of submissions received this year and the high quality of such contributions, the Evaluation Committee decided to recognize 3 additional Special Mentions for each category. They are:
- Governance: Araraquara (Brazil), Mouans-Sartoux (France), Vancouver (Canada)
- Sustainable Diets & Nutrition: Copenhagen (Denmark), Paris (France), Torres Vedras (Portugal)
- Social & Economic Equity: Los Angeles (US), Melbourne (Australia), Wroclaw (Poland)
- Food Production: Bandung (Indonesia), Curitiba (Brazil), Mexico City (Mexico)
- Food Supply & Distribution: Baltimore (US), Barcelona (Spain), Lyon (France)
- Food Waste: Cincinnati (US), Guelph (Canada), Quelimane (Mozambique)
This edition shows how remarkable has been the effort of some areas such as Eurasia & South West Asia with the presentation of 31 practices and from North & Central America with 38 practices. European cities still have the highest participation rate.
The prize for these cities will be a fully covered mission in Milan to attend the MPA Retreat, an occasion for developing with the winners all the mechanisms for the winning practices to be adapted and replicated in the Milan Pact community.
The key role of the Evaluation Committee, composed of experts from all over the world that over the years have been collaborating on different projects with the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, was to connect strategies and cities engagements’ on food system transformation.
The organizations that contributed with their extensive expertise to this edition are:
- City of Milan (Founder and Co-chair)
- Cariplo Foundation (Founder and Co-chair)
- Cape Town University
- City University of New York
- EAT Foundation
- EIT Food
- European Commission
- FAO
- GAIN
- Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation
- Italian Agency for Development Cooperation
- National University of Rosario
- Singapore University of Technology and Design
- the Earthshot Prize
- UNESCO Chair in World Food Systems
- WHO
- World Bank
- World Economic Forum
- World Food Programme
- World Union of Wholesale Markets
The Director of the Italian Agency for international cooperation Luca Maestripieri said: “It is the first time that the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation takes part as evaluator to the Awards. Thanks to the intense process of evaluating practices, it has been an occasion for us to learn even more about food systems transformation and what a city can do to create a favorable environment for its citizens. A great experience that marks the beginning of the precious cooperation among our Agency and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact”.
