Second Anniversary Celebration of the FAO Four Betters Courses Initiative

Colleagues, all of our guests and participants here in Rome and those connecting from around the world, it's my honor to welcome you to the celebration of the second anniversary of the For Better's Course initiative. My name is Lauren Phillips and I'm the director of the Partnership and UN Collaboration Division, and I'm going to be facilitating today along with my colleague, Taylor Hano, from the Office of Youth and Women.

Thank you, Lauren. It's a pleasure to share the stage with you for this very special event, and it is our pleasure to welcome you to the celebration of the second anniversary of the FAO4Better's Courses Initiative, officially launched by our Director General during the World Food Forum 2024.

And today we have the pleasure of having with us our Deputy Director General, Maurizio Martina, who's going to highlight how investment in inclusive education, capacity development, and global partnerships is expanding the reach of our FAO For Better course. Maurizio, the floor is yours. Thank you.

So, okay, fantastic. Good afternoon, colleagues, distinguished guests. It's a great pleasure to be here and happy to contribute to this important event because I think this is one of the most important programs that we managed in the past two years. It's a great pleasure to welcome you in this main event. And I have to say immediately that as FAO, we recognize the urgent need to strengthen the capacities, share knowledge and transfer skills. And this is an essential part of transforming agri-food systems, helping achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals and developing the next generation of leaders. And in this context of evolving needs and increasingly complex global challenges, innovative approaches, methodologies and practices are super critical. And this approach underpins the FAO e-Learning Academy, which hosts and implements the FAO for Better courses initiative. Today, we, as a FAO e-Learning Academy, offer over 1,000 free, multilingual, and certified courses as a global public good. And the academies are high quality learning opportunities, having power, the shareholders and the professional worldwide. These sustained investment in human capital is generating meaningful and measurable impact across agriculture, food safety and quality, natural resource management and related sectors. Allow me to share an insight into its global impact so far. Governments around the world are increasingly drawing on FAO e-Learning Academy learning resources to strengthen their capacity for policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, while supporting actors throughout food value chains. It has reached more than 1,200 universities and supported by creation of almost 200 master's degrees programs worldwide. Farmers organizations, non-governmental organization, and civil society organizations are enhancing the capacities of their personnel and constituents using FAO e-learning academy courses. It's had over 60 million views over the past year and more than 2 million registered users since its inception. the FAO Learning Academy has established itself as a global leading platform for knowledge sharing and capacity development. However, it's also important to recognize that the Academy's remarkable global reach and impact are the result of an extensive collaboration efforts involving more than 1,000 participants and partners across the world. Our multi-stakeholders approach and collaboration with governments, academic and research institutions, donors, local partners, institutions are essential. And together, we deliver targeted impact and value at scale that FAO could not achieve operating alone. I would like to conclude by expressing my sincere appreciation for your continued commitment to promoting the FAO e-Learning Academy. By advancing inclusive access to high-quality education and lifelong learning, we can collectively strengthen capacities empower people and institutions, and contribute to building a more sustainable and equitable future for all. I thank you.

Thank you, Deputy Director General Maurizio Martina, for your inspiring remarks and for underscoring the crucial role of inclusive education, capacity development, and global partnerships in transforming agri-food systems. And now let's welcome on stage Cristina Petrachi, head of the FAO e-Learning Academy, who will be sharing with us the global reach and impact achieved through the initiative. Cristina, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, we are really grateful for your participation here today with us to celebrate together the second anniversary of the FAO For Better initiative. So I'd like to this initiative is basically hosted and and implemented by the FAO e-learning Academy. But so what is it for those who don't know, the FAO e-learning Academy is the global leading platform of FAO that offers free, multilingual and certified courses. We are promoting universal education, education as a human right. We're promoting gender and social equality in the access to education, allowing everyone from everywhere in the world to have access to education in a free manner, having the possibility to also get certificates of competences. allowing people in remote areas, in conflict areas, post-conflicts, refugees, marginalized individuals, everyone needs to have the same equal right to education. So the Academy offers courses that are organized into 25 different thematic areas. So you can pick and choose the ones that are of your interests. You have climate change and environment, you have food security, nutrition, sustainable forestry, sustainable fisheries, but also livestock. I mean, many, many different areas. And in particular, I wanted to draw your attention on plant health. So within the FAO e-learning Academy, under the leadership of the International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat, we have an entire plant health campus for all that provides competencies on all the phytosanitary measures that you need to have, plant health, etc. So have a look at the campus on plant and what I wanted to do today is to share with you the impact of the FAO e-learning Academy. And I divided the presentation in three parts, so I would like to first share with you the global impact, then we will go at the individual impact, And then at community level, what has been the positive ripple effects of the academy? So let's start with the numbers. Let's start with the qualitative information that we have. So, so far, we have there are over almost 2 million professionals worldwide that are benefiting from the courses. These statistics also include our colleagues from the FAO campus that is based in the FAO regional office in Chile. So gathering the statistics, we have benefited almost 2 million professionals worldwide. This year we will be reaching 16 million views and impressions on the platform. We have granted so far 350,000 certificates. We are offering digital badge certification, so we have granted 350,000 certificates so far. We're offering over 1,000 courses, multilingual. we have contributed and supported more than 200 university master's degrees that are benefiting from the courses. And we have extended our outreach to over 1,200 universities, university consortia and networks worldwide. So I have to say, and this is a very important point, that this is not only FAO, this is FAO This is a huge collaborative effort together with over 2000 partners worldwide that are supporting, that are using the courses that are benefiting. And this year, thanks to the support of our partners, we have reached almost 1000 promotional items, either LinkedIn or expose news articles, newsletters, publications, etc. So this is For the let's continue with the global impact and still with the quantitative data. So with this shows the the increase in the numbers of professionals benefiting the the courses from 2020 to 2026. As you can see, this year we will be reaching 380,000 learners worldwide. So it continues to increase gradually. And to continue with the qualitative information, this is the geographic distribution of the learners. As you can see, 42% are from Africa, 21% from Asia. 10 from Latin America. And on the right hand side, you have the affiliated institutions of these 2 million learners worldwide. So you can see that 20% are from universities. You can see that 13% government are using the courses for policy formulation, for the implementation, but also for their staff. 14% are from NGOs. And so this point about the multi-stakeholder approach that we are using, this collaborative approach, has been extremely successful because it is by working with these different stakeholders that we are able to basically reach this impact at global level. and also to targeted impact and value at scale, basically. So we're also working with consumers organizations, with parliamentarian alliances, civil society organizations. All of these are using the courses for their own staff and also for their capacity development initiatives. So now let's go at the individual level. And so to be able to capture how the FAO e-learning Academy supports personal and professional growth, we have conducted an online survey to which almost 20,000 professionals have contributed. And thanks to the survey, we are able to also get qualitative information about how this is having an effect on the lives of people. So we can see that 62% have said that the courses allow them to advance in their careers. 59% say that it allows to deepen their knowledge. 28% are saying that the courses are integrated as part of their performance evaluation. So on the right hand side, you have some of the quotes of of these respondents and To continue with the qualitative information, 95% of the respondents declared that the courses were extremely useful for their career. 93% said that they will continue using them. And here on the right hand side, you can see that the fact that it is online, that you can decide when to do it, this flexibility is really appreciated by people who can study also at home, basically. Now, to measure the impact at community level, so we also wanted to get qualitative information. So how did we do this? So to be able to capture how the FAO e-learning academy is having a positive ripple effects on communities and networks locally, we organized this year a two-month global youth contest. And thanks to the contest, we were able to gather 4,300 inspiring, impactful stories. And we are extremely pleased to tell you that the four winners of the Global Youth Contest are here with us, among us. So thank you for the inspiring stories. Thank you. And these stories are demonstrating how the Academy is becoming a catalyst for change, supporting farmers, strengthening professionals, and also promoting natural resources protection also in the villages. So I just wanted to share with you very, very quickly, a little bit of the stories of these four winners of the Global Youth Contest. So for example, and we have her here with us, we have Nora Kimathi from Kenya, who was able, through the forestry courses, she was able to transform the learning into action by building recycled plastic robots that make forest and environmental knowledge accessible to deaf children, but also to farmers and communities. So Nora is with us. If you want more information on the stories, please, please feel free to talk to our winners. So let's now move to Rogers Simuwemba from Uganda. So we wanted to share with you What Rogers was able to do, he managed to transform these competences into a digital hub that supports nearly 500 farmers, young people, and rural communities across 25 villages in Uganda. So Rogers is also here with us. Thank you. Then I talked to you previously about the International Plant Protection Convention Plant Health Campus that is within the FAO e-Learning Academy. So thanks to that, Abdallah Amr from Egypt. was able to multiply the impact and he he basically started translating the courses into Arabic. He managed to to help over 100 inspectors and officers in his organization, strengthening plant health capacities across Egypt. So this is also a very thank you. Thank you, Abdullah. And our last winner, which is Makuka Kabanshi from Zambia. So Makuka was able to create, and she now leads a youth network that empowers young people to turn knowledge about food, forests, and climate into concrete actions in their communities. So this is also the story of Makuka. And for those who want to know more, please So we are now coming to an end, and I wanted to invite you all to join our global community. Please register to the platform, but also join us on LinkedIn, on our newsletter. because we regularly organize learning opportunities that are available for everyone as a global public good. And we always organize different things. So stay tuned. We organize webinars, we organize contests, we organize books, blended learning programs. So join our community. And I would like to conclude with our slogan. Our slogan is a better world begins with learning. So remember that a better world begins with learning. And we really hope you will join our global community so we can together, through the power of learning, build a better future for all. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Christina, thank you so much for sharing such an amazing presentation and giving us a sense of the scope and the impact of the eLearning Academy, as well as a taste of the stories of our winners. And I'm really happy that they're here in the room. I'm now going to move into a panel conversation and invite my fellow panelists to the stage, Professor Jean Cullidiati and Mr. Arturo Lavalle. Please take your seats. And also we will have Professor Kaveh Madani, who's joining us online early in the morning from Canada. So hopefully everything is working well there and we'll sit here. Now, colleagues, in the usual FAO style, we are running slightly behind. So if I could please encourage you to keep to five minutes with your interventions. So our first panelist is Professor Jean Koulidati, the rector of the Pan-African University. We're very happy to be partnering with you. And you're going to show us how the quadripartite master's degree program on sustainable food logistics and supply chain management, which is being launched today, provides us solutions to the challenges facing African food systems and brings together agriculture, technology, environmental science, entrepreneurship, and public policy. Professor, the floor is yours. You may, sure. Yes.

Please. Good evening.

Hello, everyone.

Excellence.

Agencies, ladies and gentlemen, allow me first to congratulate the FAO e-learning Academy on the second anniversary of the 4Better Courses initiative. Nearly 2 million learners have benefited from the Academy, which illustrates the power of knowledge, technology and partnerships in order to reach professionals and future professionals across the world. However, today, we are not here merely to celebrate an achievement. We are also here to open a new horizon for Africa, a new perspective which consists in building human capital, which Africa needs to transform its agri-food systems. The Pan-African University is investing in Africa's human capital. Allow me to briefly situate this initiative within the mission of the Pan-African University. Our university is a flagship continental institution of the African Union, established in order to contribute to the renewal of higher education, research, and innovation in Africa, as well as to place African universities and African knowledge at the heart of the continent's development. Our mandate is fundamentally about people, about training highly qualified African professionals, researchers, innovators and leaders capable of addressing Africa's challenges by drawing on African knowledge while engaging confidently with global expertise. Since our first graduations in 2014, we have achieved something that is truly remarkable. Our university has awarded more than 3000 degrees to students from more than 53 African Union member states. Today, our alumni are university lecturers, researchers, government advisors, entrepreneurs, professionals in international organizations, all contributing to Africa's development. Why does food logistics matter for Africa? When we speak of food security, we often speak of agricultural production, but food security does not stop at the farm gate. A food system is only as strong as its ability to move food efficiently, safely, sustainably and affordably from producers to consumers. Food needs to be stored, it needs to be transported, it needs to be processed, it needs to reach markets. And this must happen all the while reducing the losses, protecting the environment and creating economic opportunities. This is why sustainable food logistics and supply chain management must become a strategic component of Africa's development agenda. The program's concept note rightly emphasized that food logistics is essential to food security and to the resilience of African food systems. For Africa, therefore, it is not simply a logistics program, but it is a food security program. It is an economic development program. It is also a climate resilience program and, above all, a human capital development program.

The partnership, the strategic value of today's initiative also lies in the partnership itself. I would like to thank Christina, because brought together on the initiative of our very dear Christina, my most graceful, are the Pan-African University. FAO and its global knowledge resources, Guglielmo Marconi University with its academic and digital expertise, and UNU-INWEH with its international expertise at the intersection of water, environment, and human development. This is what the future of higher education should look like. No single institution holds all the knowledge needed to solve complex continental challenges. Solutions to the challenges Enhancing African food systems require bringing together agriculture, logistics, economics, technology, environmental science, climate knowledge, data, entrepreneurship, and public policy. The quadripartite partnership makes this possible. And the integration of FAO e-learning academy courses and FAO knowledge resources into university teaching builds an additional bridge between academic knowledge and the skills required in the professional world. The Pan-African University is especially pleased to have the opportunity and privilege of contributing alongside three exceptional partners Guglielmo Marconi University, the United Nations University and the FAO e-learning Academy to the creation of this master's program in food logistics and sustainable food value chain management. Since its creation, the FAO e-learning Academy has established itself as a global benchmark in capacity development and a genuine driver of transformation, and I can attest to this. Through its work, it supports farmers, fosters more sustainable food systems, strengthens professional skills, and encourages the adoption of innovative approaches to preserving biodiversity and natural resources. We are deeply honored to join forces in this exemplary initiative, convinced that education remains one of the most powerful levers for building a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable future for present and future generations. And as Nelson Mandela so aptly said, and I quote, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." We are therefore calling for action. Let us therefore see today's launch not as the end of a process, but as the beginning of a continental journey. Our ambition must be to train graduates who do not merely understand supply chains, but who are capable of reimagining them. Graduates capable of using digital technologies to improve traceability, Capable of reducing post-harvest losses. Capable of making food transport more efficient and more sustainable. Capable of strengthening resilience to climate change and other disruptions. Capable of connecting African producers to African markets and capable of turning knowledge into jobs, innovation, and enterprise. The Pan-African University is proud to move forward alongside FAO, UNU, INWE, and Guglielmo Marconi University in this endeavor. I would like to leave you with a simple message. Africa's food future will not be secured by production alone. It will be secured by knowledge, innovation, connectivity, and people. Let us educate the people who will build these systems. Let us connect our universities, let us connect our knowledge, let us connect our markets, and ultimately, Ultimately, let us connect Africa to its own food future. This is the Africa we want. This is the human capital we must build. And this is a transformation to which the Pan-African University is firmly committed. Thank you for your attention.

We will now pass over to our colleagues. Joining us remotely from Canada, Professor Kaveh Madani, who's the director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, who's going to be talking to us about the role of the UN University in this quadripartite master's programs. Professor Madani, the floor is yours. Good morning.

Good morning. Thank you very much. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, good morning from Toronto and congratulations to the winners. Sorry that I cannot be with you in person today. However, I'm here to to share my remarks. So it's an honor to join you in celebration of the FAO For Better Courses initiative. Today, we celebrate the progress of our collaboration. We also remark an important new chapter in our educational partnerships. Let me begin by thanking FAO for bringing us together and dear Maurizio Martina, FAO Deputy Director General, for his opening remarks. The United Nations University is the academic arm of the UN, bringing together research, education, policy support, and capacity development to address the world's most pressing challenges. Within this system, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health UNU-INWE addresses global challenges at the intersection of water, agriculture, environment, climate, and health, recognizing the deep connections between water and food security, climate resilience, and human well-being. Our flagship report, Global Water Bankruptcy, which got published earlier this year, warns that the world has entered a new era. In many regions, decades of overuse, pollution, and environmental degradation have pushed water systems beyond their capacity to recover. The implications for agri-food systems are profound. Agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of global freshwater withdrawals. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, around 3 billion people live in areas where water storage is declining or unstable. Those areas produce more than half of the world's food. These pressures threaten agricultural productivity and livelihoods. They also put food availability, affordability, and supply chains at risk. To address these challenges, we need to work with a range of partners. The FAO e-learning Academy is an important partner in this effort. With more than 1,000 free courses, it has reached nearly 2 million professionals worldwide. This shows that knowledge can become a global public good when it is accessible, relevant, and responsive to real-world needs. No single institution can address every dimension of the food system alone, but together we can combine our expertise, networks and resources. Together, we can equip learners with the scientific knowledge, practical skills and global perspectives they need to turn knowledge into action. Last year, at this event, we signed an a memorandum of understanding with Africa University, committing together with FAO to establish a joint master's program in food security and sustainable agri-food systems. I'm happy that the first cohort, including scholars from across Africa, began their studies this September. Today, we are building on that experience. Our new four partner initiative brings together Uni Macroni, the Pan African University, FAO, and the United Nations University. Each institution brings a distinct strength to this collaboration. Uni Macroni brings its academic expertise and experience in digital higher education. The Pan-African University, as a flagship initiative of the African Union, brings together a continental network dedicated to postgraduate education and research. The FAO e-learning Academy brings global leadership in multilingual certified digital learning. And the United Nations University brings the academic and convening strength of the UN system through UNU-INWEH. We also a global network and a strong commitment to capacity development on the relevant themes. Together, these strengths underpin our joint master's degree program addressing sustainable food logistics and supply chain management. I was pleased to formalize our partnership with Unimacroni by signing an MOU with its rector, Professor Marco Abate, earlier today. I'm also glad to be joined on this panel by Mr. Arturo Lavalle, Director of Research and Development and International Relations. relations. Dear Arturo, we look forward to working closely with you and other partners. I would like to express my particular appreciation also to Miss Christina Petraci, head of the FAO e-learning Academy. Her vision, dedication, and leadership have been instrumental in advancing this collaboration. Christina, thank you for bringing our institutions together around the sheer ambition. At UNU Inway, we are expanding learning opportunities that build skills, strengthen capacity, and translate knowledge into action. Our online learning center, academic programs, and our five UNU hubs across three continents connect learners, research, and practical solutions worldwide. This week, we are also launching the World Food Academy for Sustainable Food Systems. This platform will equip students, early career researchers, and practitioners with these with the science, skills and network networks to advance sustainable agri food systems, bringing together over ten partners across academia, research and industry. The platform will offer free online learning resources and opportunities for collaboration. These efforts are part of a broader vision across UNU Inway and the United Nations University to make high quality education more accessible, to connect academic expertise with professional practice and to strengthen cooperation across the UN system and beyond. At UNU-Inway, we are proud to work alongside FAO and our partners to empower the next generation to turn knowledge into action and help shape a more sustainable and equitable future for people and the planet. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Professor Madani, and thank you also for acknowledging our colleagues' hard work. We really appreciate that. Now I'd like to pass the floor to Dr. Arturo Lavalle, the Director of Research and Development in International Relations at Guillermo Marconi University, who's going to be sharing with us the importance of co-creation and how this quadripartite master's degree program is a scalable model of cooperation. Arturo, the floor is yours.

Hello. Okay, this is a hard one. Thank you very much, Lorraine. Good morning, everybody. Deputy Director General, colleagues, partners, dear all. It's also for me a great pleasure and honor to be here today representing Universita degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi. and be part of this important initiative along with FAO, Pan-African University, and United Nations University. And I take this occasion to thank Professor Madani for his kind words. We are also ready to cooperate with you on this initiative and also on further initiatives that will come. This initiative of the Master builds on a long-standing partnership with FAO that has developed over the years and that received significant boost from Maurizio Martina who during a meeting some months ago highlighted the importance of logistics and supply chain management in the food sector and also from the continuous support of Cristina Petracchi. So for us, this initiative is not, this master is not a starting point, but it's a further step on a relationship which is based on a shared commitment to education and capacity building. The value of this project lies in several aspects. One of them is certainly the defect, as it was mentioned before by Jean and also by Professor Madani, on the fact that four institutions work together, combining different types of knowledge, approaches, expertise. around a very concrete challenge. And the challenge is clear. Food security does not depend only on how much food we are able to produce, but it depends also on our ability to store, transport, and distribute it efficiently and sustainably. And this is particularly relevant in Africa, where better logistics and also reduced post-harvest losses have a direct impact on economies, on communities, and also on the food security itself. Addressing those challenges, anyway, requires people with the right skills to have a crucial role. Our programs should be connected with the real problems and issues that our graduates will be asked to cope with. And I think that this Master in Sustainable Food Logistics and Supply Chain Management is a very good example in this respect. As it was mentioned before, each institution will contribute its own expertise and experience The Pan-African University provides its unique connection with the African continent and with its academic community. The United Nations University will bring its research capacity and global perspective. FAO, as we saw with Christina's presentation, provides an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and learning resources through its e-learning academy. And Uni Marconi offers its academic experience and more than 20 years of work in digital education. But I think there is another aspect which I consider particularly relevant. Our objective should not be to transfer an existing European model to Africa, but since we are going to work together, we have the opportunity to work together, we should integrate the international expertise with African knowledge, priorities and needs. And this reflects a broader vision that UniMarconi has been developing for some time. International education does not mean only to bring students to Italy or Europe. It also means to create the conditions for high quality learning to reach people where they live and are. And in this light, digital education is not just a way of delivering courses, it's a way of democratizing and widening access to learning resources for people around the world. And this brings me to a final consideration. Africa is the starting point, of course, of this initiative, but its potential goes well beyond Africa. If we succeed in creating a flexible and strong model, the result will not simply be a new master program, but a cooperation model that can be shared, adapted and shared with other academic institutions around the world, bringing learning opportunities to people across different countries and contexts. And I think this is the kind of partnership that we need if education has to become a real driver for agri-food systems transformation. Thank you.

So I want to thank our distinguished panelists again for their valuable interventions and for sharing their insights in the discussion. Let's give them a round of applause as they return to their seats. You can make your way back.

Can we give them another round of applause? Thank you so much to our esteemed guests and panelists. It was indeed very interesting to hear from our esteemed guests how the Fow for Betters initiative is enriching academic programs through co-creation and collaboration. The spirit of collaboration has been the driving force behind the results and global impact generated by the initiative over the past two years since its launch. This quadripartite university master's degree is a remarkable example of how strategic partnerships can drive collective success and shared impact, which can resonate around the world. Now, again, we would like to call back on the stage Christina Petrachi as we open our interactive question and answer session. The floor is now open and please feel free for our audience and our participants online as well to ask any questions that you may have.

This is actually my preferred part to interact with you. So if you have any questions, any comments, it would be great. Yes, please. Can somebody bring the mic? Okay.

Thank you very much. I welcome the FAO initiative for the e-learning academy. I am Marie-Therese Sombo, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Innovation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This.

Is something that I find very interesting, but I have seen several countries that have been involved in this initiative. I don't know if this is the case with the Democratic Republic of Congo. What can we do to involve human capital of the DRC? as well as our research institutions in this initiative.

Thank you very much for these questions, because this gives me the opportunity to talk about a new program with different countries to help with the institutionalization within ministries and universities for this initiative. Constanza, my colleague here, can take your contact details and we can organize a follow-up with you specifically for the DRC. Thank you very much.

I don't see the hands, so. Yes, there is.

Thank you.

Well, hi. My name is Valentina Gonzalo. I'm from Venezuela, but I'm also a representative one of the members of the Spanish Youth Chapter. My question is related on if you have some insights or results for America Latina and also women in agri-food systems, also how youth can engage with these type of platforms and where can we find more information about it because I think it's a huge initiative and it has to have more information about it for youth and all the people that want to be included on it, thank you.

Yes, thank you very much for this question. Just to mention that basically youth, gender and sustainability are basically the cross-cutting themes throughout all the courses that we produce. So this is the first thing. Then we organize very specific initiatives for youth to try to invite them to participate, like the one on the Global Youth Contest that was organized this year. This was a global event. I didn't speak about it, but it was really incredible. to see how many people not only participated but showed how these courses are being used in their country, in their communities, etc. So these are things that are available. These are initiatives that we propose. It's just a matter of being connected. And I think that we work very closely, as I mentioned, with the FAO campus that is based in Chile, and they are responsible for everything in Latin America. So we can definitely support in particular, Latin America, through our colleagues that are based in the FAO campus that is part of the FAO e-learning academy and that can work more directly on Latin America. So the colleagues are here, Karina and Marcel, please connect with the participants so we can follow up. Thank you.

All right, thank you so much, Christina, for giving such insightful answers, and thank you as well to our audience and our guests for asking their questions.

I think there is something--.

Will we have any questions from online? Okay, all right, well, thank you so much, and thank you so much, Christina. Now, our founder, Director General, Chudong Yu, has just joined us, thank you so much for gracing us with your presence today. Without further ado, I now give the floor to the Director General for his closing remarks. Director General, the floor is yours.

I was so delighted to come here because especially after this year's reciting this part of the podium, looks like a T classroom. I don't know, you familiar with the T class, capital T, terrace. That's a terrace classroom I used to when I give the lecture to the students. So I'm so familiar. When I started having intergenerational dialogue in this room, suddenly I couldn't recognize because it was so old fashioned, put the leader and the speaker, panelists on the stage. That's for me from 1970s. I know, that's why it was built not a long time ago, about 10 or 15, no, yeah, 13, 14 years ago, but now with this kind of design, it's a little more modern. So I was encouraged by the COP28 president, he come to see me, I say, would you help me to transform this last piece? But they couldn't, they didn't come back, so three years, that's one of my regrets. I couldn't finish before I leave. Okay, now I have so many talk points, I have to be careful. Because luckily not like SG is in COP27. He picked up so many papers and he read several sentences, he found he read the wrong one. Yes, you still can search from online. It's not a rumor. Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, FAO e-Learning Academy's 4Better Courses Initiative supports the transformation of global agriculture by integrating FAO free, multilingual, certified courses into university curricula worldwide. When I started having these ideas, it took me three years to implement until the Mauritius Martina came. It's not real education, but it's real build one effort. It's necessary to understand what is real our philosophy as one organization. I said many times, the UN have the 2030 agenda, 17 SDGs, 16 plus one, the partnership. I only remember SDG 1, SDG 2, and then they have the 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, yeah? So, and even SDG 14, 14.1, 14.121, and so on, so forth. That's real like a mathematic teachers to design. But we are UN inter-agencies, joint agenda. We want to get all the members on board. Even there are professional people, professors in university, you could remember what is the real message from SDGs, include all the SDG 16. And then, FO, when I prepare my manifesto, now he will be the candidate for sure already. So you have to send a clear, concise message, closely linked with FO mandate. That's my 40 years of thinking for betters. Starting with better production, there's no doubt, but a lot of people play games with me during the minister conference. If we lost the better production, why we call that food and agriculture organization? And then better nutrition, that's two basic core mandate. After two years of debate, Someone involved, still Rakesh was the secretary of the minister conference, still the secretary of the minister conference in the coming year, next year for sure. They didn't understand or really they didn't understand, but I surprised because for me, that's two basic goals. And then you can add in a better environment, that's for sure. Not only big environment, small environment, micro environment, M-I-C-R-O. That's why the F1, not micro environment. I'm so happy, I'm so busy from last Friday already. It's from seeds to food. I didn't have sleep enough, but I'm enjoying. Why? Micro environment so good. If you go to outside of the garden or terrorists or any corridor. I don't know, someone who stay longer than 10 years, you couldn't imagine. That's the power of a principle. That's the power of a principle philosophy. Four pillars is the key for the transformation agroforestry, not the food system. Also, some people say only food system. No, food system, if you only talk of food system, you forgot where the food come from. not necessarily processed food. Even though we eat a lot of raw food, salad, apples, fruits, they're not necessarily processed. Even now they say, oh, the developed countries can still keep, but even Japan, after so many years of the industry, 70% of the food they eat, still not processed. China, I know for sure. They will keep the 60 to 70% unprocessed food forever. Because that's part of the culture. Italy, you are more and more compared 30 years ago, but still, you are played, dominated by fresh, unprocessed food. So that's the better environment, crucial foundation. And better life. Again, it's not a livelihood. it's only talk about the rural areas, about the poor people, about the economy aspect. But life include everyone. I said each year, each time I always say four betters, but only in this headquarter or effort system. But through e-learning academy, now you can reach a four million more. And even you didn't know from secondary transfer, from that even more. So e-learning is a powerful approach by digital approach. It's only mainstream of the communication accessible to the digital world. So launched the World Food Forum in October 2024 only, now it's the third year. It has provided a systematic framework for collaboration with academic and research institute, along with education with Africa Strategy Framework 2022 to 31. Two years countdown, the collaboration and the sustained investment in human capital is generated meaningful measurable impact through the extensive university network, academic integration, knowledge creation, and also farmers, farmers organization, you didn't count. the farmers organization, they have more members to the real food producers, not only limit ourselves to the education sectors. If we do so, the UNESCO, why they didn't do it? There are so many universities in the world, but they still don't have the network by UNESCO to promote some strategy framework, I suggested to new DG. He was a former minister of the culture of Egypt. I said, what means UNESCO? Cultural education research. I said, if I were you, we should change. You should go to FAO, I come here. Because I have a long history to be a professor. I know how to promote the knowledge, digital economy, and the shared economy. Platform is number one force. not investment. If you build the successful platform like I did now, World Food Forum, you know how many real business happening? Build a lot of years, years before those kind of things, you give the one million, half a million to the members. Yes, they say, "Thank you." But only limited few project manager to understand, to feel your impact. But now the platform, you never know. For next 20 years, who are now coming here younger than 15, 20 years later will be 35, right? Who are coming now, the 20 to 30, will be the new leader. That's the world for the long-term impact by small investment. E-learning, academy, even less investment, and it will be long and wide, excessive, impact. So I really salute my colleagues with your passion, with your effort, with your determination. You can focus on one thing, continue for three years, you will see the lifelong impact. If you only focus on one thing for three months, maybe only one year impact. That's, I believe, seven years, eight years, I focus on one big thing, World Food Forum. I'm so passionate on that because the governing body, I have a limited impact. Because that's a member's play. It's not allowed me to play. I just implement what they decided. But I can do through this platform, through eLearning Academy, to create a real impact from FO, from our management. Thank you so much. And let's work on that. And Roma is not building one day. E-learning Academy, definitely not building within one year. We need 10 years or five years to continue, to make e-learning with AI, with new tools, amplify the impact. And FO is modernized, e-learning with front technology and tools. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Director General, for telling us a little bit of the history of the four betters, but also highlighting some of the things that we will continue to build in the e-learning academy, like using AI, in fact, to help people find better course pathways. And thank you also for, of course, your support to FAO's work to transform agro-food systems and your focus on knowledge, innovation and partnerships. We're very happy to have had you here to help us close. me pass to my colleague.

Thank you so much to all of our participants for coming here and listening to all of our speakers and esteemed guests. And as we come to the end of today's session, we would like to thank you all for supporting the FAO4Better Courses initiative. Your active participation and engagement are truly appreciated and made today's discussion especially inspiring. Thank you once again and we look forward to continuing this journey with you. And now we play the FAO e-learning Academy video.