Oct. 8, 2004
Politics of Hunger is Topic of Teleconference
The 21st Annual International World Food Day Teleconference, "The Politics
of Hunger: What’s At Stake?" will be broadcast Oct. 15 from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m. in Abbott Concert Hall of the Kleinpell Fine Arts Building at the
University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
The three-hour teleconference addresses the provocative question: Why does the
modern world food system fail to feed adequately some 800 million people?"
This event features Werner Kiene, a noted expert on international food policy
and activities. The Austrian native, who is the World Food Program’s representative
to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, contends that the "politics
of hunger" could be called the "politics of neglect." Ray Suarez,
a senior correspondent for PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," is
scheduled to host the program.
In addition, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Ann Venaman will participate. A documentary film produced by Asterisk Productions
and a short film by the World Food Program will be aired in the second hour.
The third hour will be an interactive question-and-answer period.
The 2004 teleconference, which will reach 1,000 sites worldwide, will be aired
internationally with simultaneous translations in Spanish and French. The teleconference
originates from the television studios of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The U.S. National Committee for World Food day, a coalition of 450 private voluntary
organizations, sponsors the event.
The UW-RF broadcast is free and open to the public. For more information on
the local event please contact the UW-RF Leadership Center at 715/425-4911,
or visit the World Food Day Web site at www.worldfooddayusa.org.
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