Engaging thousands with Food Systems Summit Dialogues

In collaboration with the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) Special Envoy, Dr Agnes Kalibata, and the Secretariat for the UNFSS, 4SD designed, prepared and assisted with encouraging the convening, curation and facilitation of Food Systems Summit Dialogues throughout 2020 and 2021.

At the time of the Summit in September 2021, the Summit Dialogues process had engaged over 100,000 people, whose contributions remain readily available to be explored, referenced and synthesised on the Summit Dialogues Gateway. The Official Feedback from the Dialogues remain a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers and changemakers in food systems.

Remarks of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UNFSS included praise for all who had engaged with the Dialogues process, stating, “Over the last 18 months, you’ve been part of a remarkable global engagement. As the pandemic physically pushed us apart, the preparations for this Summit brought us together. Through national dialogues, governments gathered together businesses, communities and civil society to chart pathways for the future of food systems across 148 countries. Over 100,000 people came together to discuss and debate solutions – many of which are now being shared at this Summit. You injected new life into multilateralism.”

Outcomes from Food Systems Summit Dialogues were used by national governments to develop pathways to sustainable food systems within the locality in which they take place. By the time of the Summit, over 80 countries had formed national pathways for food systems transformation, which Dr Kalibata described the potential of these as, “the development of national pathways for transforming food systems will create the opportunity to reflect and respond to unique climate, economic and social circumstances facing each country.”

Based on Official Feedback Forms submitted by national Convenors, the Summit Secretariat and 4SD developed syntheses reports of the Member State Dialogues to provide an analysis of progressions and trends across countries. These reports were made available publicly to contribute to national pathway development, as well as provide insights for the different workstreams preparing for the UN Food Systems Summit: the Action Tracks, Scientific Groups and Champions as well as for other dialogues.
Read the reports here:

• Description of the inception period
• Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 1
• Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 2
• Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 3
• Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 4

For more information about the Summit and it’s follow-up, led by the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, visit https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit.