Diversity for Life campaign

A global awareness campaign for agricultural biodiversity

Agricultural biodiversity is…

Different ecosystems

Different species

Variability within species

Agricultural biodiversity is the key to guarantee better health and well-being. Because…

… it can improve productivity and increase resistance to pests and diseases

… it can buffer yields, minimizing risk to small farmers

… it can improve adaptation: agricultural systems high in diversity can adapt more easily to climate change

… it can ensure nutrition and health for all

… and it preserves the culture, identity and traditions of communities.

The campaign

In collaboration with national and international partners, Bioversity is mounting a global awareness campaign that will gather momentum during 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity.

Create a vibrant

global movement

around agricultural

biodiversity

Goal

Diversity in all its forms – human, cultural, agricultural – gives our lives richness and value beyond measure Message

- Policymakers - Schools - Media Target

Partners - Local - National - Regional - International

The launch On 22 May 2008, the International Day for Biological Diversity, Bioversity International launched the global awareness campaign for agricultural biodiversity, Diversity for Life.

Diversity for Life will have activities

all over the world.

At the moment, ten countries are involved – Armenia, Ethiopia, India, France, Italy, Kenya, Peru, Philippines, the UK and USA –

but the number is growing.

Glimpses of the campaign

Goal

To develop school curricula on agricultural biodiversity for Italian secondary school students to be inserted in

2009-2010 school year.

Partners

National Academy of Science, National Association of Science Teachers, CNR, University of Naples.

Rome, 25 November 2008 Presentation of the project to secondary school teachers Teaching the Teachers

Phase 1

Realization of didactic modules to be inserted in the Science classes.

Students will be introduced to agricultural biodiversity as an important resource for productivity and resilience, for improved nutrition and as the best insurance against climate change.

Phase 2

Realization of didactic modules to be inserted in the Art, Literature, History and Geography classes to show students that agricultural biodiversity is not just a scientific idea, but involves every aspect of our life.

Teaching the Teachers

A cycle of lectures on the relationship between

culture and agriculture addressed

to journalists and to the general public that will be held in Rome.

Ritorno al Futuro will challenge young chefs throughout Italy to create and promote new dishes based on traditional ingredients. Food for Thought Ritorno al Futuro

Oral History Project The children will be supplied with handheld digital voice recorders and disposable cameras. They will interview their parents, grandparents and relatives about the foods eaten when they were the age of the children. What Students in the 10-12 age range from two rural and two urban schools in each country will participate in the project. Who 2009-2010 When Armenia, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Italy, Kenya, Peru, Senegal, the UK and USA. Where

Oral History Project - The interviews will be shared with classmates to prompt a discussion on food traditions in the school communities. - The material will be entered into an interactive electronic encyclopedia available on the Web that will constitute a global information source for further research and a learning environment about food cultures for all students around the world.

Oral History Project - The oral histories will also be used to create a travelling exhibition and a series of multimedia presentations that will be available to all participating schools and disseminated through other activities of the Diversity for Life campaign. - In collaboration with projects and partners working in the communities, support will be given to creating community gardens to grow traditional plants that can be used to supplement and add greater nutritional value to the school feeding programmes. The students will be involved alongside other community members in deciding where and how to establish the gardens and what to grow there, based on their research.

A weeklong international celebration of biodiversity in music, video, poetry, drama and art. Based in Rome, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, La Settimana della Biodiversit à will guarantee recognition of the leadership role that Italy has played in promoting the conservation and use of biodiversity, particularly agricultural biodiversity. La Settimana della Biodiversit à