Platform Topic: About the Platform work and products
The GDPRD Secretariat is very pleased to introduce our new Co-Chairs, Leonard Mizzi of the European Commission, and Thijs Woudstra of the Netherlands, for a two-year term starting from 1 January 2026.
The GDPRD Secretariat is pleased to introduce Federica de Gaetano of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) as our new Co-Chair effective 29 May 2024. She joins Bruce Campbell of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in chairing the Donor Platform Board.
The GDPRD Secretariat is delighted to introduce our new Co-Chairs Iris Krebber, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) – United Kingdom, and Bruce Campbell, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) - Switzerland. Their two-year term started on 1 January 2024.
Please join us in welcoming the World Rural Forum as a Member of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development and with WRF Director Laura Lorenzo as their representative.
Nikita Eriksen-Hamel is the Deputy Director of Agriculture and Food Systems for Global Affairs Canada, and a long-time member of the Donor Platform. He provides an overview of Canada’s development priorities as well as concrete examples of donor coordination at global and national levels.
Please join us in welcoming Ireland to the Board of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development. Membership is through Irish Aid, held under Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and with Patrick McManus as their representative.
Meet Elisenda Estruch Puertas, Rural Economy Specialist at the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the new Co-Chair of the Platform’s Rural Youth Employment Thematic Working Group. She shares her hopes and vision for her new role as Co-Chair of the group, and how she plans to contribute to ILO’s focus on employment, decent work, social dialogue, and social justice around the issues of rural youth.
Agriculture and food security remain high on Switzerland’s development priorities. Cooperation is key to balancing emergency assistance with building long-term resilience, both crucial to ensure people’s livelihoods are never at stake. Meet our GDPRD Board member Bruce Campbell of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Meet our GDPRD Board Member Sebastian Lesch of BMZ. What does it take to truly shift the paradigm on food systems? Why are short- and long-term responses important to tackling current and future global crises? Sebastian Lesch, newly appointed Head of Agriculture at BMZ, answers these difficult questions and more, and explains how Germany welcomes all hands on deck for collaborative donor action.
A conversation with GDPRD member Elisabeth Simelton, Senior Policy Specialist at Sida. Elisabeth’s scientific background, experience in the field and growing up on a farm imparts an on-the-ground perspective to donor funding in food security and transforming food systems. She shares concrete examples of what works and a future vision for our small-scale farmers and younger generation.
The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development is a vibrant partnership, advocacy and knowledge network of key donors focusing on food security and rural development.
Secretariat hosted at the International Fund for Agricultural Development
Via Paolo di Dono 44, 00142 Rome, Italy
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