UNA-NYC Summer Series:
Sustainable Food Systems in New York and the World
Ron Hartman
Director
Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Edith Heines
Representative and Country Director, Rwanda
World Food Programme (WFP)
Meshack Malo
Representative, South Sudan
Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO)
Moderated by
Reem Abaza
Acting Chief, UN Videos
Department of Global Communication
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Thursday | 10 June 2021 | 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EST
Note: This event will last approximately 1 hour, and will include a brief Q+A session.
This event is the first in our four-part summer series, Sustainable Food Systems in New York and the World, in which we aim to prepare our membership and the general public to engage with the UN Food Systems Summit this September.
The UN and Food Systems: An Overview
Every single Sustainable Development Goal is dependent to some degree on one crucial factor: food. Sustainable and equitable food systems bring great progress, while their absence is a fundamental cause of poverty, war, and suffering. It’s no wonder food and agriculture have always been a central part of the work of the United Nations, which has not one but three specialized agencies dedicated to addressing hunger and food insecurity.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are all headquartered in Rome, Italy and have complementary mandates. Together, the Rome-based UN agencies (RBAs) form a united front against global hunger and food insecurity.
An understanding of how the RBAs work — and therefore of how the UN in general tackles hunger — is an important part of engaging with the UN Food Systems Summit, which Secretary-General António Guterres will convene this September here in New York City. To that end, on June 10th at 1pm EST, we’re giving you the opportunity to hear directly from each of the RBAs. We hope you’ll join us as we kick off our Summer Series with this special panel event.
Panel Moderator
REEM ABAZA
Reem Abaza is Acting Chief of UN Video Section at the Department of Global Communication.
Ms. Abaza was the Spokesperson of the President of the 74th session of the General Assembly and the Communications Team Leader. Previous to that, she was the Chief of the Arabic Unit of UN News/News and Media Division/Department of Global Communications.
Before joining the UN in 2007, Reem worked as an editor and international broadcaster with the Voice of America in Washington D.C. before moving to the Pan Arab Radio Sawa based in Virginia, USA. Reem also worked as a new reporter with Abu Dhabi TV in Washington D.C.
She started her career as an on-air and news broadcaster in the Middle East Network, one of the most popular radio stations In Egypt.
Panel Speakers
RON HARTMAN
Ron Hartman is currently IFAD’s Director for Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization. He is responsible for leading IFAD's global engagement and multilateral relations including with the private sector; IFAD's south-south and triangular cooperation agenda; and replenishment, resource mobilization and funds management.
Prior to his current position, Mr Hartman has served as IFAD Country Director and Representative at its South East Asia and the Pacific subregional office in Jakarta. He was also formerly IFAD's Country Programme Manager (Nepal, Pacific Islands, Thailand) and Portfolio/Operations Advisor in the Asia and Pacific region. Mr Hartman has also served UNOPS as a Portfolio Manager based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before joining the United Nations in 2003, Mr. Hartman held management positions in both public and private sector organizations in Australia and the United Kingdom, most recently in investment banking and fund management.
With over 24 years of professional experience, including over 15 years with the United Nations, Mr. Hartman has acquired an extensive managerial and operational experience in over 25 countries. He has specialized knowledge in promoting sustainable socio-economic development and poverty reduction, public policy, public and private investment, and partnerships. He has strong technical experience in the design and implementation of investment programmes. In 2011, Mr. Hartman was awarded the IFAD Presidential Award for outstanding performance.
Mr. Hartman was educated in Australia and UK and holds qualifications in economics, finance and management.
EDITH HEINES
A Belgian national, Ms. Edith Heines has more than 25 years of experience in humanitarian and development assistance. She has worked in a wide variety of contexts implementing and managing complex food assistance programmes for the World Food Programme.
Ms. Heines has previously served WFP in the Somalia Operation, Cambodia, Headquarters (Rome), Bangladesh, DPR Korea and Nepal. She is currently the Representative and Country Director of WFP Rwanda. Before joining WFP, Ms. Heines worked with “Education for Development” (VVOB) in Gabon and Vietnam.
Ms. Heines holds a M.A in Psychology from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and a Postgraduate Programme in Behavioural Therapy from Antwerp in Belgium.
MESHACK MALO
Meshack Malo was appointed as FAO representative in South Sudan in May 2019.
He started his career in 2001 as extension officer with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute and, until 2007, he was a programme officer and regional scientific officer for the Elangata Wuas Ecosystem Management Programme and for the Regional Programme for Sustainable Use of Dryland Biodiversity, respectively.
In 2007, Meshack joined the FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, Ethiopia as an associate professional officer for natural resources and focal person to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. In 2011 he moved to FAO headquarters in Rome where, among various roles, he worked as land and water technical officer (2011-2013), advisor to the Deputy Director-General (2013-2016) and, from 2017 to 2019, as advisor in the Office of the Director-General to provide support on Africa, technical matters on agriculture, climate change, forestry and natural resources, and facilitate coordination and networking of inter-departmental activities.
Meshack holds a master’s degree in dryland biodiversity from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Kenyatta University, Kenya.