Symposium brings together leading experts in a bid to tackle food and water scarcity
With soaring food prices and water scarcity affecting a huge percentage of the world’s population, the Centre for International Business and Management (CIBAM) will be hosting a symposium called ‘Securing Food and Water’ to look for possible ways to tackle the problem on 28 June 2012 at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Shaping up to be an intensive event, the symposium, brings together leading business people, academics, policymakers and representatives of NGOs and international organisations to discuss the challenges presented by the uneven distribution of global resources, the increasing demand for food, and shortages of safe drinking water.
The theme was proposed by Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, who will give the keynote address, following the welcome address and introduction from Professor Christoph Loch, Director of Cambridge Judge Business School, and Dr Christos Pitelis, Director of CIBAM.
Jose Lopez, Executive Vice President of Nestle, and Commissioner Maria Damanaki, EU Commissioner on Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, will give the business keynote lecture and policy keynote lectures respectively, which will each be followed by two panels of expert speakers, including Dr Michael Pollitt, Reader in Business Economics at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Dr Christos Pitelis, Director of CIBAM, commented:
Food has become a driver of world politics and soaring food prices are considered to be a major trigger for the riots that have destabilised North Africa and the Middle East. Environmental factors related to global warming and bad weather, such as this year’s drought in East Africa, are amongst several factors that contribute to the trend of increasing demand, and decreasing ability to supply will be explored.
The water scarcity situation is being exacerbated by climate change, especially in the driest areas of the world, which are home to more than two billion people and to half of all poor people.
The CIBAM ‘Securing Food and Water’ Symposium will discuss the problem of the lack of food and water, as well as issues pertaining to social, economic, demographic and political implications and our leading panel of experts through presentations and discussions will look for possible ways to tackle this ever increasing problem.”