Thank you, Don, for this great idea. I agree 100% that we must continue the millets promotional activities beyond 2023. The concept of ‘millets week’ is great. I do think that any of us can devote one week to millets activity. Therefore, we must pick up a day at our own workplace within the week and celebrate it through various actions e.g. millets-food competition  (“millets cook-off”) and presentations, etc.  

Thanks

Dipak

Dipak Santra, Ph.D. Associate Professor (Alternative Crops Breeding Specialist) President, International Broomcorn Millet Association Department of Agronomy and Horticulture University of Nebraska–Lincoln Panhandle Research & Extension Center 4502 Ave I, Scottsbluff, NE 69361 (308) 632-1244 (work) / (308) 765-2324 (cell)

From: Collab <collab-bounces@lists.millets2023.space> on behalf of Maria E Giovanni via Collab <collab@lists.millets2023.space>
Reply-To: Maria E Giovanni <mgiovanni@csuchico.edu>
Date: Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 10:07 AM
To: Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org>, "collab@lists.millets2023.space" <collab@lists.millets2023.space>
Subject: Re: [Collab] Thinking ahead: World Millets Week?

Non-NU Email

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Thank you for all of the information!  I agree with the idea of a week of millet recipes – each day could be a different variety with a recipe.  My graduate student, Sruthi Vobbillisetti, is familiar with several varieties and has a collection of recipes.  I’m suer many of you also have this information.  I have enjoyed trying them!

Maria Giovanni

CSU Chico

From: Collab <collab-bounces@lists.millets2023.space> On Behalf Of Don Osborn
Sent: Saturday, May 6, 2023 5:57 PM
To: collab@lists.millets2023.space
Subject: [Collab] Thinking ahead: World Millets Week?

There are a lot of annually recurrent United Nations sponsored observances, in the form of days, mostly, and some weeks. You can browse the list at https://www.un.org/en/observances/list-days-weeks

Some international years are followed by the establishment of an annual day on the same theme. I believe this is the case with the International Year of Pulses (2016) and the World Pulses Day (Feb. 10). 

While not advocating such an annual observance for millets, I wanted to take the opportunity now - in case others are thinking about it - to suggest that any such proposal be for a week, and not just a day. One day would seem fully inadequate for the number of millets - which, by the way, is greater than the number of pulses

Another possibility might be for a separate day dedicated to each millet, but that could add a dozen and a half new UN days. A World Millets Week, however, would allow time in each region to focus on different sets of millets that are grown in each world region.

Anyway, just putting that out there,

Don Osborn, PhD

(East Lansing, MI, US)

North American Millets Alliance