A Food-Secure Future for Everyone
Irish and global perspectives on hunger and food security - past, present and future
In partnership with the Irish Forum for International Agricultural Development (IFIAD), and the Ryan Institute at the University of Galway, Galway City will host a conference on global food security. Looking from the past to the present, and forwards to 2030 and beyond, the Conference will provide perspectives on hunger and food security from Irish and international speakers. The main conference venue will be the O’Donoghue Theatre, University of Galway, 7th November 10am - 4.30pm.
2022 marks the 175th anniversary of Black ’47 of the Great Irish Famine, and its dramatic impact on the course of Ireland’s political and social development. In 2022, issues of conflict, inequality, and climate change continue to drive food insecurity and famine. In 2021, 828 million people were affected by hunger worldwide, and it is projected that 8% of the world's population will face hunger by 2030.
The Conference will be organised around three thematic sessions:
- Session 1 – Perspectives & Understanding of Famine & Hunger
- Session 2 – Climate Change, Conflict, Food Security & Migration
- Session 3 – Agriculture, Food Policy and Sustainable Food Systems
Speakers
Alex de Waal,
Tufts University
Alex de Waal is executive director of the World Peace Foundation, Research Professor at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and Professorial Fellow at the London School of Economics. He has worked on the Horn of Africa and on humanitarian issues since the 1980s as a researcher and practitioner, with a special focus on famine and humanitarian crises. He served as a senior advisor to the African Union High Level Panel on Sudan and South Sudan. De Waal’s recent books include: The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power (Polity 2015), Mass Starvation: The history and future of famine (Polity 2018), and New Pandemics, Old Politics: 200 years of the war on disease and its alternatives (Polity 2021).
Breandán Mac Suibhne
Historian
Breandán Mac Suibhne is a historian of society and culture in modern Ireland (PhD, Carnegie Mellon, 1999). His The End of Outrage: Post-Famine Adjustment in Rural Ireland (Oxford University Press, 2017) was Irish Times Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year in 2017. The Royal Irish Academy awarded it the inaugural Michel Déon Biennial Prize for Nonfiction and it received the Donnelly Prize for Books in History and Social Science from the American Conference for Irish Studies.
Kevin O’Sullivan is a Lecturer in History at National University of Ireland Galway and associate director at the Moore Institute. Prior to coming to Galway, he was a Irish Research Council/Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Birmingham and an Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at University College Dublin. He was awarded his PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2008.
His interests are in international history, particularly the areas of globalisation, humanitarianism, NGOs and human rights. He has published two books: Ireland, Africa and the End of Empire: Small State Identity in the Cold War, 1955-75 (Manchester University Press, 2012) and The NGO Moment: The Globalisation of Compassion from Biafra to Live Aid (Cambridge University Press, 2021). In addition to publishing several peer reviewed articles and essays, he has also co-edited special issues of European Review of History (2016) and Moving the Social (2017) on the history of humanitarianism. He been a visiting fellow at the European University Institute in Florence and at Carleton University, Ottawa.
In addition to his academic work, Kevin has collaborated on UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Irish Research Council funded projects with colleagues from the NGO sector, as well as contributing to the Overseas Development Institute’s Global History of Modern Humanitarian Action programme. He was a founding member of the Canadian Network on Humanitarian History and the Transnational Ireland research network, and previously served as a member of the Irish Committee of Historical Sciences.
Réiseal Ní Chéilleachair
Head of International Advocacy, Concern Worldwide
As Head of International Advocacy, situated in the Strategy, Advocacy and Learning Directorate at Concern, Réiseal guides Concern’s advocacy work across country programmes and at capital level, focussing on conflict, hunger and climate change policy and practice.
With a background in community development and child protection, she has worked on humanitarian and development programming for 25 years - 16 years abroad in management and advisory roles in Europe and Africa with Concern Worldwide, Save the Children and University College Cork.
While working with Concern Somalia from 2004 to 2011, she was seconded to the Somalia NGO Consortium as Director for four years, leading the collective advocacy work of the national and international NGO community, and coordinating efforts with UN agencies and engaging with political actors.
In Ireland, she has worked with Caritas Internationalis/Trocaire as Humanitarian Policy Adviser, supporting Caritas members on advocacy and policy in humanitarian contexts.
She represented Dóchas as a member of the Steering Committee for Ireland’s engagement in the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS); served as one of two INGO appointees on Ireland’s Oversight Group for Women, Peace and Security, 2015-18; and served as a board member of the Interact Programme, School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University, 2014-17.
She represented INGOs on the Global Pooled Fund Working Group at UNOCHA, 2017-18 on behalf of ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies) and is currently a Board Member at ICVA.
Maura Barry Boyle
Senior Deputy Assistant to the Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security
Maura Barry serves as Senior Deputy Assistant to the Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security and as interim USAID Global Water Coordinator. In this role, she oversees the implementation of the Agency’s responsibilities under the U.S. Global Water Strategy. Ms. Barry also oversees the bureau’s strategy, program, budget and administrative functions, which support implementation of both the Water for the World and Feed the Future initiatives. Prior to joining RFS, she served as the Deputy of the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance in USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. Before returning to Washington, she served for a year as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission to the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica.
Ms. Barry has been working in international development for over 30 years. As a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, she has held various leadership positions throughout USAID. She served as USAID Mission Director to Jamaica responsible for the overall direction of programs that cut across a range of sectors, including citizen security, environment and health. Other assignments include serving in the Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) in Bangkok overseeing a diverse portfolio aimed at narrowing the development gap in Southeast Asia, including programs in security, disaster management, human rights, trade, food security and local capacity development. In addition, Ms. Barry served in Afghanistan as the Deputy Office Director for USAID’s Office of Democracy and Governance, and as USAID East Africa’s Office Director for Somalia. In addition to her years with USAID, Ms. Barry worked for the United Nations Development Program and with CARE International. She holds an MPA in Public and Non-profit Management from New York University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya.
Theresa Liebig
CGIAR
Theresa Liebig is an agricultural scientist with more than 10 years of experience in tropical agroecosystems. She works in the CGIAR Climate Security Focus, which aims to bridge knowledge gaps between climate and security by aligning insights from climate, land and food system science with peacebuilding interventions. She leads the development of climate security-sensitive decision support systems and tools, such as the "Climate Security Observatory" or the "Climate Security Index", and is the contact person for the research areas "Digital Innovation" and "Measurements and Indicators".
Paul Wagstaff
Head of the Global Technical Advisory and Research Team
at Self Help Africa
Paul Wagstaff is the Head of the Global Technical Advisory and Research Team at Self Help Africa. Before joining SHA Paul was an agriculture advisor with Concern Worldwide, working on Climate Smart Agriculture, Conservation Agriculture, agriculture and nutrition, crop protection, soil and water conservation, and rodent control in 25 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Paul has a MSc in Tropical Agroforestry, lived in East Africa and Nepal and has worked for a range of National Governments, the EU and development NGOs.
Lalini Veerassamy
International Organization for Migration
Lalini Veerassamy is the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ireland since November 2019. Previously, she assumed several senior positions in the IOM, namely as Chief of Mission in Djibouti (2016-2019), Head of Programme in Tunisia, Chief of Mission for the Western Indian Ocean Islands (2008-2014). Lalini also worked extensively on labour migration in West Africa but also in the implementation of circular labour migration and diaspora mobilization.
Lalini is a Lawyer Member of the Quebec Bar Association since 2006 and completed her studies at the University of Montreal and the University of Geneva. She was awarded Officer of the 12 June by the Prime Minister of the Government of Djibouti in 2019 for exemplary support to the authorities and vulnerable migrants in Djibouti.
Professor Sayed Azam-Ali
CEO, Crops for the Future
After completing a PhD in Environmental Physics at the University of Nottingham, UK, Sayed Azam-Ali worked as a Groundnut Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India, later returning to Nottingham where he became Professor of Tropical Agronomy and then Chair in Global Food Security. In 2008, he was appointed as Vice-Provost for Research and Internationalization at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia, and in 2011 became founding CEO of Crops For the Future Research Centre (CFFRC), the world's first centre for research solely on the world’s underutilised and forgotten crops. In 2020 he became CEO of Crops for the Future (CFF) based in Cambridge, UK. Sayed Azam-Ali is a past Chair of the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture. In 2021 he was awarded an OBE for 'services to underutilised crops and increasing global food security' in the Queens New Year's Honours List and received his award from HRH The Princess Royal at an investiture ceremony in March 2022.
Professor Sayed Azam-Ali is the author of `The Ninth Revolution; transforming food systems for good’.
Ronald Vargas
Secretary of the Global Soil Partnership, Land and Water Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization
Ronald Vargas is a soil scientist with over 20 years of working experience in natural resources management with a focus on sustainable soil management for food security and ecosystem services. He joined FAO in 2011 as a Land and Water Officer and is the Secretary of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) since its establishment in 2012. He has supervised the implementation of the GSP and its regional soil partnerships and the establishment of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils. He leads the technical and scientific cooperation within and among regions, coordinates and facilitates the establishment of joint actions between governments, research institutions and NGOs for the achievement of soil-related SDGs. He promoted the UN International Year of Soils in 2015 and managed the publications of a wide range of soil related publications, including flagship publications such as the revised World Soil Charter, the Status of the World’s Soil Resources Report, the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, the International Code of Conduct for the sustainable use and management of fertilizers, the Protocol for the assessment of Sustainable Soil Management, the Global assessment of soil pollution and the State of knowledge of soil biodiversity. Since its official endorsement by the UN General Assembly in 2014, he coordinates the World Soil Day annual campaigns and preparation of audience-specific technical and communication material. Since 2017, he also coordinated the successful organization of 5 science-policy symposia focussing on global soil threats: the Global symposium on soil organic carbon (2017), the Global symposium on soil pollution (2018), the Global symposium on soil erosion (2019), the Global symposium on soil biodiversity (2021), the Global Symposium on Salt-affected Soils (2021) and the Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition (2022).
Niamh Garvey
Senior Policy Analyst, National Economic and Social Council
Niamh Garvey joined NESC as Senior Policy Analyst in March 2021 and works in the area of sustainable development and climate action. Niamh was previously the Head of Policy and Advocacy at Trócaire – an Irish international development organisation, working in 17 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, where she led a team of policy and advocacy advisors working on climate change, sustainable agriculture, business and human rights and international finance. She held previous roles in research and advocacy at Christian Aid and the Institute of Development Studies, and has served as Board Director with a number of NGOs, including Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, Friends of the Earth Ireland and the Fairtrade Mark Ireland. She is a graduate of Durham University and the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.
Michael J. Barry
Director, MjB Consulting
Michael Barry has over 30 years of Senior Management experience in Irish and International Agri-Business, including dairy farming, cattle breeding, dairy processing, and specialised nutrition. His experience spans commercial management, policy development, international advocacy, and trade facilitation. He represented the Irish dairy processing industry during its transition from quotas to its expansionary phase, and the international specialised nutrition sector at WHO, Codex and the UN Committee for Food security.
Since establishing MjBConsulting, Michael is partnering with several international agencies in promoting sustainable food systems, in Zambia, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, with a focus on building food security, sustainable farming practices and processing enterprises. He is a strong proponent of stakeholder-led development programmes, involving all actors along supply chains in their design, development, and operation. Michael is a regulatory affairs professional providing guidance to a number of competent authorities on food safety regulatory policy.
Theresa Kinkese
PhD candidate LEG4DEV project, University of Galway
My name is Theresa Kinkese, a Zambian, who is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Galway under the European Union (EU) funded Legume for Development (LEG4DEV) Project. I hold a Master of Science Degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Development from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. I have over 10 years’ experience working in the agriculture sector on topics such as policy analysis, agriculture food systems, climate change adaptation and mitigation, agronomy, agriculture finance. value chain development and gender mainstreaming. I have worked with government and non-government institutions, with my last role been a Policy and Sustainability Advisor for Agriculture and Nutrition at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Development Cooperation- GIZ) under the Zambia Agriculture and Food Security Cluster where she provided policy and strategic advice to GIZ and the Zambian government on relevant topics. I am passionate about agriculture, and linkages to policies, and how the two interlink and contribute to the development of our food systems.
Lara Hanlon
Founder Portion Collaborative
Lara Hanlon is an award-winning design strategist, educator, facilitator, and keynote speaker. In 2022, she founded Portion Collaborative — a design-led climate-conscious company — to help food organisations solve some of the world’s most wicked problems. Before founding Portion Collaborative, she served as a Senior Designer at IBM where she worked across brand, software, and research, delivering market differentiated outcomes for the enterprise. During her time at IBM, she was integral in the facilitation of design thinking engagements for clients in the food and retail sector including Walmart, CocaCola, McDonald’s, CVS, and PepsiCo. This work underscored the need for more strategic, efficient and diverse thinking to help fix our broken food system. In parallel to her corporate career, Lara developed “éntomo” — a multi-award winning project that used design methodologies to encourage Western society to embrace insects as a sustainable food source. In 2017, she delivered a TEDx talk on her discoveries.
Lara is also an educator and has delivered lectures, workshops and seminars to students at The Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire; School of Visual Arts, New York; Temple University, Philadelphia; and Northern Illinois University, USA. An active contributor to the design community, Lara is a steering committee member and writer at 100 Archive and has delivered keynote presentations to audiences around the world on the topics of food, design, and business.
Jennifer McConnell
Social Researcher
Jennifer McConnell is a social researcher, focusing on the area of food security in Ireland, as part of her Masters in Applied Social Research with the University of Limerick. Previously, Jennifer was the CEO/General Manager of Irish Seed Savers Association in County Clare which focuses on the protection and availability of Ireland’s heirloom vegetable seeds and native and heritage fruit trees. Their work contributes to Ireland’s commitment to the International Plant Treaty and also informs policy focusing on seed and biodiversity protection in Ireland through the Irish Environmental Network, and throughout Europe as member of the European Co-ordination Let’s Liberate Diversity for which Jennifer was a Board Member. Co-Chairing the Multi-Stakeholder Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources for the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations in 2021, Jennifer has regularly featured in print media and online webinars focusing on the area of food security and seed sovereignty. Her main interest is in understanding the lived experience to inform social research. Jennifer’s food security work can be followed on Twitter at @Biaamachanseo.