On 31 July 2025, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact will take part in Expo Osaka 2025, hosting the session “School Meals as Food Policy Catalysts in ASEAN Cities” at the Italy Pavilion.

The event will explore how school meals can act as a transformative lever in urban food policies. It will showcase the outcomes of the project “Spreading Experiences and Knowledge on School Meals Programmes in ASEAN Cities”, led by the Municipality of Milan in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, and funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Over the course of the project, capacity-building activities were delivered to city officers from 29 cities across 8 ASEAN countries. Drawing from the expertise of Milan’s school meals model, six feasibility studies were developed to support the launch or improvement of school meals programmes in Bandung, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Denpasar, Hoi An, and Semarang.

This session at Expo Osaka will also introduce a follow-up initiative, opening the floor to a roundtable discussion on potential funding opportunities to help cities move from planning to implementation.

By addressing the triple burden of malnutrition, which still affects 1 in 10 children in the ASEAN region, the project has demonstrated how cities can take the lead in shaping healthier and more inclusive food systems.

Participants will gain a unique perspective on the political and practical relevance of school meals programmes within the broader ASEAN–Italy cooperation framework. The discussion will highlight the strategic role of cities as drivers of change in urban and regional development.

The MUFPP is willing to pay for the EXPO entry pass for those interested in joining the session among your colleagues and close partners. In order to reserve a seat and issue the EXPO entry pass, interested participants should fill in this link: https://forms.office.com/e/AFt4weVm4U (deadline 25th July).

Agenda of the session “School Meals as Food Policy Catalysts in ASEAN Cities”