This is an interesting discussion surrounding the post-2023 millets celebration. To be extremely honest, I see this with mixed feelings. The UN Observances (Years, Months, Weeks, Days - even “Decades” exist), are adopted through a lengthy process, and it has to be proposed by a member state.  https://www.un.org/en/observances/

While they can be powerful advocacy tools, they of course require resources to manage them. The resources have to come from extra-budgetary source, meaning regular UN contributions are not allowed to be used for the activities. We will need a strong country (or two or more) commitments to make this happen.

I definitely do not want to put a damper on this thread, but I just wanted to inform you that all the UN observances come with a price, and having a week of celebration translates to perhaps half a year of work for us, believe it or not. For us to organize an International year, it is at least 2 years of work. The cost of having these observances should be carefully vetted vis a vis its impact.

From FAO perspective, we hope to generate interest this year to set up a global network on millets in the coming years.

best

Makiko Taguchi

Agricultural Officer

Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy       

Email: makiko.taguchi@fao.org

Web: www.fao.org