The national headquarters of the non-governmental organization Ação da Cidadania (Action for Citizenship) will be the stage for the meeting, which should formalize the Alliance's constitutive documents and thus enable interested countries to join. During the event, members of the G20 will be able to visit the site, which includes a solidarity kitchen and a food bank.
The choice of location was no coincidence. Founded more than 30 years ago by sociologist Herbert de Souza, known as Betinho, Ação da Cidadania is an international reference in working for the right to food. "The main themes established by the Brazilian government at the G20 are the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality, which are also the pillars that Ação da Cidadania, inspired by Betinho, has been advocating for decades," explained Daniel Souza, president of the NGO's Board and son of the sociologist Betinho.
Daniel Souza believes a fairer and equal society is built collectively, with lasting and efficient public policies against hunger and in defense of citizenship. "Having our headquarters as a space for debates on the main economic and diplomatic issues that revolve around global governance inspires us greatly," he said. "Future generations will ask us how we let hunger get to this point in a world that produces enough food for everyone. Our answer needs to start now," he added.
On June 28, after an extensive process of dialogue and joint construction, the Task Force of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty concluded, at a technical level, all the documents that underpin the initiative. The Task Force members included representatives from the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger (Ministério do Desenvolvimento e Assistência Social, Família e Combate à Fome /MDS), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores /MRE) and the Ministry of Finance (Ministério da Fazenda /MF).
After several meetings throughout the year, the Task Force held had its last in-person session in May, in Teresina. There, the Terms of Reference and Governance Framework of the Alliance, the criteria for the composition of the portfolio of public policies to be supported by the Alliance and the template for the Declarations of Commitment, which every member of the Alliance will need to sign, were established by consensus between more than 50 international delegations - including G20 countries, guest countries and international organizations. The political declaration for the July Ministerial, with a few remaining points, was finalized based on the contributions received in Teresina and in virtual consultations.
Partnership to expand active search
The MDS and Ação da Cidadania are working together for social development. In April, a partnership was signed to expand social inclusion and the fight against poverty. The aim is to include leaders who are part of the NGO in the process of mapping out the most vulnerable population in the territories where they work, providing guidance on rights and access to social benefits.
To help assist this public, Ação da Cidadania has developed a bot that lets you know, in a few minutes, which social programs each citizen is eligible for. The next step is referral to the Social Assistance Reference Center (Centro de Referência em Assistência Social /CRAS) and registration.
Visit
During the event, members of the G20 and guests will be able to see the physical and logistical structure of the Ação da Cidadania national headquarters, from where it contributes to food security and sovereignty, combating food waste and distributing food. Visitors will have the opportunity to see up close and in practice how Brazilian public policies against food insecurity work.
In the NGO's Solidarity Kitchen, one thousand ready-to-eat meals are prepared and distributed every day to people in socially vulnerable situations. The site also has an Agroecology area, with urban gardens and green areas to serve local communities; and the Food Bank, which, through incentives from public authorities, such as the Food Acquisition Program (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos /PAA) of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, works to collect, receive and deliver food and supplies.
The institution has a network of 3,000 volunteers who work across the country to combat food insecurity. "From 2017 onwards, Ação da Cidadania distributed more than 20,000 tons of food at a time the country was going through another escalation of hunger, reaching 33 million hungry people. We realize, with the commitment of the current government, that only through political decisions and will is it possible to end poverty," explained Souza.
Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty
The idea of forming the Alliance came from President Lula and was initially proposed when Brasil attended the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, last year, being further developed during Brasil's current presidency of the group.
Open to all countries, the Alliance seeks to coordinate actions as well as technical and financial partnerships to support the implementation of national programs in the countries that join the proposal. A range of successful experiences in policies to combat hunger and poverty will be available for countries to choose from.
