Gorta encourages business leaders to stand up against poverty
Eliminating Hunger is Everyone’s Business
PRESS RELEASE - 16th October 2008
In excess of 100 Irish business leaders will attend gorta’s World Food Day Conference 2008 on October 16th at St. Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club, Dublin 2. This conference, which aims to encourage the private sector in Ireland to partner with gorta in tackling the root causes of hunger, will be launched by Peter Power, T.D., Minister of State for Overseas Development.
Against a backdrop of an already desperate situation of food insecurity
being dramatically exacerbated by the ongoing food crisis, gorta Chairman
Deirdre Fox noted how “With much of the world’s attention currently
directed at the current instabilities in global financial systems and
credit markets, it is important to note that the economic costs of
rising mass global hunger are also enormous. Economists are warning us
that losses from hunger can be up to 10% of GDP.”
“In 2000, world leaders came together at United Nations
Headquarters in New York and committed to halving the proportion of
people suffering from extreme poverty and hunger worldwide.”, Fox said,
“Not a single country in sub-Saharan Africa is on track to achieve this
goal on time. I hope this conference will explore how the private
sector can bring to bear its wealth of resources and expertise in
tackling the two greatest challenges we face in the world: climate
change and chronic hunger.”
The conference will also see gorta launch its Corporate
Social Responsibility Guidelines for Business: “Tackling Hunger is
Everyone’s Business”, as we seek to build a space for seeking common
ground for collaboration between business and gorta’s important work overseas.
David McWilliams, Economist, Broadcaster & Author, and Edward
Millard, Senior Manager, Sustainable Landscapes, Rainforest Alliance
and founder/director, Café direct, will deliver the keynote speeches.
In addition, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson will be the guest speaker.
Other speakers include:
• Alexander Mueller, Assistant Director General, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations
• Senator Dan Boyle, Green Party, Deputy Leader of Seanad Éireann
• Conor Kilduff, Managing Director, Unilever Ireland
• Kevin Smyth, Chief Economist, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
ENDS
Further information is available from Adrienne Dunne, Marketing and
Communications Manager, Office 01 664 0157, Mobile 087 786 2868, email
adrienne.dunne@gorta.org web www.gorta.org
EDITORS NOTES
GORTA-The Freedom from Hunger Council of Ireland
• gorta’s mission is to work for a world free from the injustices of chronic hunger, poverty and disease, having special regard for the plight of children and the empowerment of women. gorta establishes partnerships with local communities, and supports local leadership to ensure their needs are met in a sustainable way.
• Programmes and projects supported by gorta are
located predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa where the need is
greatest. Their objective is to help people become self-sufficient in
food production and income generation thereby creating a secure future
for generations to come. gorta supports agricultural
activities including livestock rearing, irrigation schemes and other
water-based projects. The support of education, healthcare initiatives
and income generating activities also forms part of gorta’s work.
• gorta was the first overseas development organisation
to be set up in Ireland. It was established by the Department of
Agriculture in 1965 at the request of the Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and has since become an
independent NGO. Since its inception, gorta has channelled the contributions of Irish people to over 2,000 projects in the developing world.
WORLD FOOD DAY
• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations marks World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.
• The UN FAO theme for the conference is World Food Security: The Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.
• In response, gorta is focusing solely on how business and the private sector can contribute to sustainable development, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the eradication of chronic hunger. gorta believes, that with a sense of purpose and mission, the private sector is well-placed to have a massive impact on the challenge of world food insecurity.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
• In 2000, world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a series of time-bound targets - with a deadline of 2015 - that have become known as the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• The goals include halving extreme poverty and hunger, and reducing gender inequality, disease and many other hardships suffered by hundreds of millions of people every day.
• gorta has dedicated itself to working as part of the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Senator Dan Boyle, Deputy Leader of Seanad Éireann
A prominent member of the Green Party, Senator Dan Boyle was nominated by the Taoiseach to Seanad Éireann in August 2007 and was subsequently appointed as Deputy Leader of the Seanad. He was also elected to the position of Party Chair of the Green Party in October 2007. Senator Boyle had previously been elected to Dáil Éireann for the constituency of Cork South Central in 2002. He was Green Party Whip in the Dáil and continues to be the party’s spokesperson on Finance and on Social and Family Affairs
Deirdre Fox, gorta Chairperson
Having worked in France as an Animatrice for a number of years, Deirdre Fox returned to Ireland to work in the field of Rural Community Development under the FÁS Community Enterprise Programme. She is currently working as the National Coordinator of the Irish LEADER Network. Deirdre has been a Board Member of Gorta since 2002 and was the vice Chairperson for two years prior to becoming Chairperson. Deirdre is also a Board member of Just Forests and a member of the Advisory Panel of The Ireland Funds.
William Keyah, Country Manager, Kenya, gorta
William Keyah has a primary training in agriculture and extension, and an MRD post-graduate qualification. He has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya and is the agricultural and community development co-ordinator and leader of eight technical staff and grassroots community animators in Nakuru, Kenya.
Conor Kilduff, Managing Director, Unilever Ireland
In January 2008, Conor Kilduff became Marketing Director for the entire Unilever portfolio in Ireland (foods, ice cream and home and personal car products). Prior to this role, he was Business Unit Director for the foods portfolio. In 2001, he became a director of the Unilever Board in Ireland. Unilever Ireland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever Plc and is responsible for the selling of a portfolio of leading food and home and personal care brands. The company employs 300 people and Group turnover for 2006 was €346 million.
David McWilliams, Economist, Broadcaster and Author
David McWilliams is a bestselling author and has been a regular on Irish television and radio since his award-winning Agenda current affairs program began in 2000. Before moving into writing and broadcasting McWilliams spent ten years in banking, first as an economist with the Irish Central Bank, where he helped draft the Irish Submission to the Maastricht Treaty and advised the authorities during the 1992-93 exchange rate crisis; then in investment banking with UBS - Europe’s largest bank - where he was appointed the youngest director ever at the age of twenty-seven.
Edward Millard, Senior Manager, Sustainable Landscapes, Rainforest Alliance,Founder/Director, Café Direct
Edward Millard is currently the Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes at Rainforest Alliance UK. He previously was the Senior Enterprise Advisor at Conservation International (CI), where he had a key role in managing CI’s relations with private sector partners. Mr. Millard has 25 years of experience in small business development, providing and facilitating training, technical assistance and market development to craft and food businesses in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He worked from 1981 to 1995 with Oxfam Fair Trade in England. In 1991 he became a founder director of Café direct, Britain’s leading Fairtrade company.
Alexander Müller, Assistant Director-General, Sustainable Development, UN FAO
Mr Alexander Müller currently serves as the Assistant Director-General of the Natural Resources Management and Environment Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Mr. Müller worked with the Hessian Ministry of Youth in the Family and Healthy Affairs Department as the State Secretary from 1992-1995. From 1995 to 2001, he held various roles including Member of Parliament, of the Committee of Environmental Affairs, of the Finance Committee and of the Committee for New Media, and also served as the Chairman of the Green Party Caucus. From 2001 to 2005, he was the State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture department.
Peter Power T.D., Minister of State for Overseas Development
Mr. Peter Power, TD, was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for Overseas Development Aid in May 2008. Before his appointment Minister of State Power served as Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee for Justice, Equality, Law Reform, Defence and Women’s Rights. Minister Power was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 2002 and re-elected in the 2007 General Election. Prior to his election to Dáil Éireann in 2002 the Minister practiced as a solicitor in Limerick.
Mary Robinson, Elder and President, Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative
Mary Robinson served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002 and as President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997. Before her election as President, Mrs. Robinson served as Senator, holding that office for 20 years. Mary Robinson is currently Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, Vice President of the Club of Madrid, and serves on numerous boards including the United Nations Global Compact and the Advisory Board of the International Business Leaders Forum. Ms. Robinson is also the honorary chair of the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), a business-led programme to help lead and develop the corporate response to human rights. Currently based in New York, Mary Robinson is now leading Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative. Its mission is to put human rights standards at the heart of global governance and policy-making and its work includes promoting corporate responsibility. Mary is also a member of The Elders, a group of respected world leaders assembled by Nelson Mandela to tackle some of the world's most divisive issues.
Kevin Smyth, Chief Economist, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Kevin Smyth is a native of Dublin and currently works as head of the Economic Unit of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food. His work involves close linkage with Irish Aid, the World Food Programme and the FAO.
