Media Advisory

Hunger Run 2012 and Crescita SMS Campaign Press Conference

Media Advisory

Hunger Run 2012 and Crescita SMS Campaign Press Conference

Two initiatives to help those affected by drought and poor harvests in Kenya

Roma Capitale and Valentina Vezzali join FAO, IFAD, WFP,

Bioversity International and Gruppo Sportivo Bancari Romani to launch event

What: Press Conference to launch Hunger Run 2012 and Crescita SMS Campaign

Why: To support poor communities in Kenya affected by drought and poor    harvests

When: 17 October, 2012 at 11:30 am

Where: Musei Capitolini, Sala Pietro da Cortona – Rome

Elisabetta Belloni, Director General for Development Cooperation, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Valentina Vezzali, Olympic fencing champion and spokesperson for the Crescita SMS campaign

Laura Duchi, Presidente Gruppo Sportivo Bancari Romani

Media Invitation

One of the highlights of World Food Week 2012 is the Hunger Run - formerly the Run for Food race. The event, which has been renamed to emphasize the common goal of eradicating hunger, will take place on Sunday 21 October 2012 starting at 10:00 am.

Hunger Run 2012 consists of 10 km competitive race as well as a 5 km fun run (or walk) through the historic centre of Rome, starting on Viale delle Terme di Caracalla and ending at the Stadium, Terme di Caracalla, in front of FAO headquarters.  

Hunger Run 2012 is joining forces with Crescita SMS Campaign – coordinated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – to raise funds to improve the food and nutrition security of some of the most vulnerable people on our planet.
Proceeds from the Hunger Run 2012 and the Crescita SMS Campaign will be donated to a field project in Kenya where FAO, IFAD, WFP and Bioversity International will be working with poor communities affected by drought and poor harvests.

Hunger Run 2012 is being organized by Gruppo Sportivo Bancari Romani in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD); the World Food Programme (WFP); Bioversity International, and the FAO Staff Coop with the support of Expo Milano 2015, Roma Capitale and Region of Lazio. The initiative also enjoys the sponsorship of the Youth and United Nations Global Alliance (YUNGA), the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) and Acea.
Representatives from Expo Milano 2015 and Regione Lazio will be present at the press conference.

A short multimedia presentation on HUNGER RUN 2012 will be screened during the press conference, and made available to media upon request. Photographs will also be made available shortly after the press conference.
For more information and registration, please visit:
HUNGER RUN 2012 WEBSITE:  www.HungerRun.it  [1]

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For more information, please contact:

Nora Capozio, Bioversity International, tel. 06 6118 333,  n.capozio(at)cgiar.org  [2] (Italian media)
Samantha Collins, Bioversity International, tel. 06 6118 242,  s.collins(at)cgiar.org   [3](English media)
Katia Meloni, FAO, tel. 06 5705 4478,  katia.meloni(at)fao.org  [4]
David Paqui, IFAD, tel. 06 5459 2213,  d.paqui(at)ifad.org  [5]
Vichi De Marchi, WFP, tel. 06 6513 2058,  vichi.demarchi(at)wfp.org  [6]
Emanuela Cutelli, WFP, tel. 06 6513 2691,  emanuela.cutelli(at)wfp.org   [7]

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) collaborate in many ways to further the global community's goal of eliminating hunger and poverty. Bioversity International is a research-for-development organization working with partners worldwide to use and conserve agricultural biodiversity to improve lives, sustain the planet and provide resilient, productive agricultural systems.

The four Rome-based organizations have collaborated to produce HUNGER RUN/Run for Food since 2006.

www.fao.org  [8]; www.ifad.org  [9]; www.wfp.org  [10]; www.bioversityinternational.org   [11]