Partnerships & Priorities: Transforming the Global Food Security Agenda
October 17-19, 2012 – Des Moines, Iowa – Des Moines Marriott Downtown Hotel
Agenda | Transcripts/Audio/Visual | Event Photos | Speakers | Laureate Lectures
Click image above for full 2012 Borlaug Dialogue Brochure
With the pressing environmental and demographic CHallenges facing a hungry world, we have seen a growing push toward international collaboration between institutions, disciplines, public and private sectors and countries. The 2012 Borlaug Dialogue will highlight the role of partnerships and their importance in confronting hunger challenges by driving forward cutting edge research and application at the intersection of science, education and enterprise.
The "Partnerships and Priorities” theme will ask several critical questions:
- What are some of the lessons learned from past partnerships?
- Where do we want to be and how do we best leverage partnerships to get there?
- How is the traditional food security agenda being transformed with new models of collaboration around the world?
Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 17, this three-day dialogue will address the questions above by exploring topics such as:
- Setting the Stage – What will a future landscape of a hungry world look like and how will we feed it sustainably?
- Water and Environment – How can agriculture become a part of the conservation solution and not the problem?
- Feeding Capacity – Studying past successes and future opportunities for academia to influence the global conversation
- Nutrition Value – Integrating nutrition across the entire value chain from production to consumer
- Working Capital – Leveraging global financial tools to empower smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs
- Measuring Success – From stockholder to smallholder, what are the common indicators for a successful partnership?
- Game Change – Emerging technologies shaping the future of food & agricultural development
- Waste Not, Want Not – Increased productivity is only one part of the food security equation. What are the advancements in minimizing waste in the supply chain, especially in post-harvest loss?
- Spread the Word – The role of the media in informing the public and bringing food security issues to the forefront
These and other critical issues will be explored through keynote presentations and lively and engaging "conversation" sessions that will feature the expertise and diverse perspectives of governmental leaders, policymakers, CEOs and executives from agribusiness and NGOs, scientific and academic experts, development leaders and young leaders from around the world.
As a special part of the Borlaug Dialogue, based on popular demand from last year’s focus on the next generation of leaders, we will be launching “dialogueNEXT”, our inaugural workshop series on the evening of Wednesday, October 17. This forward-thinking, youth-engaging program will include a variety of interactive seminars, conversations and rapid-fire presentations, including the effective use of mobile applications, social media, the future of social entrepreneurship in agricultural development and the emerging thought leaders who are transforming the dialogue with new ideas, concepts and achievements.