Food security: a global challenge

Food security is a fundamental right which means that everyone must have reliable access to sufficient, nutritious and safe food to lead an active and healthy life. Despite progress in some parts of the world, more than 733 million people still suffer from hunger, an alarming statistic in a world capable of producing enough food for everyone.

Several factors are hampering this objective:

• Climate change: Rising temperatures and natural disasters are affecting harvests, making agricultural production uncertain in many regions.

 

• Conflicts: Wars and political instability are major causes of food crises in some parts of the world, disrupting food production and distribution.

 

• Economic inequalities: Access to food often depends on purchasing power, and millions of people cannot afford nutritious food.

World Food Day reminds us that to eradicate hunger, it is not enough to increase food production. We need to improve access, distribution and use of food resources.

Fighting malnutrition

An insufficient or unbalanced diet leads to serious problems of malnutrition, affecting billions of people around the world. This problem affects not only developing countries, but also wealthy nations where access to healthy food is often limited by cost and social inequalities.

The importance of healthy eating

Promoting healthy eating is another crucial issue for this day. With the rise in obesity and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, the emphasis is on the need to eat nutritious, sustainable food. Local initiatives aim to encourage the consumption of fruit, vegetables, pulses and other local produce that are not only good for health but also for the environment.

The principles of a healthy diet :
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• Diversity: Eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you need.

 

• Balance: Avoid excesses of fat, sugar and salt, which are bad for your health.

 

• Sustainability: Adopt environmentally-friendly eating practices, such as reducing food waste and favouring local produce.​

Call to action: what can we do?
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World Food Day is also an opportunity for everyone to take part in the global movement to eradicate hunger and promote sustainable food. Whether you are a volunteer in a local association, a farmer, an entrepreneur or an ordinary citizen, everyone has a role to play in this process.

Here are a few initiatives that everyone can undertake:

• Reducing food waste: On average, a third of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted. Raising awareness of good practices and avoiding waste can greatly improve access to food.

 

• Supporting local farmers: Favouring short circuits and local producers helps to strengthen local economies and ensure fresher, more sustainable food.

 

• Promoting food education: Teaching children and communities the basics of a balanced diet can make a big difference for future generations.

In short, World Food Day invites us to reflect on food inequalities and how each of us can contribute to a world without hunger. Food security, the fight against poverty and the promotion of healthy eating are at the heart of this day and require coordinated action at local, national and global level. Together, we can ensure that everyone in the world has access to sufficient, nutritious and sustainable food.

On this day of reflection and action, let us all ask ourselves: What can I do for a world without hunger?

​Elodie is a French volunteer involved in the International Food Day.

With just two weeks to go before Americans have to put their vote in the ballot box, it is vital that they stay informed so that they can form their own opinion and vote with a clear conscience.  But as today more than eight-in-ten Americans get news from digital devices (Pew Research Center, 2021), you must wonder whether they are actually getting the information right.  Indeed, in an era of constant, rapid information flow, it is extremely difficult to remain in control of it. Fake news, social media trends, endless adverts are things we encounter continuously, and which cloud our minds when travelling through digital devices.    
  
The rise of digital platforms has revolutionized the way news is reported and shared. Traditional media outlets, such as newspapers and television networks, have had to adapt to the digital age, where social media and online news platforms dominate. With information at our fingertips, people can access news from various sources, allowing for a broader range of perspectives. However, this accessibility also raises concerns about the reliability of information and the proliferation of misinformation.   
A clear example of prejudice that a person can experience due to fake news is the discrimination faced by individuals of Asian descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2020, as misinformation and conspiracy theories about the origins of the virus spread online, many fake news stories falsely claimed that the virus was deliberately created in a lab in China or spread by Chinese people through unhygienic practices. This led to racial stereotyping, hostility, discrimination, and even violence against Chinese people and Asian people more globally. In this case, fake news not only spread fear but also directly contributed to prejudice, discrimination, and harm against innocent people, showing the devastating real-world impact of disinformation.   
  
The line between credible journalism and biased reporting is often blurred. With so many sources available, from blogs and independent news sites to traditional media outlets, it can be difficult to determine which ones adhere to ethical standards and fact-checking processes.  Information Literacy is the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use information. It involves critical thinking, problem-solving, and an understanding of how information is created, shared, and consumed: a task that has become increasingly difficult.   
The main problem with relying on social networks for information is the danger of becoming trapped in a “filter bubble”.  
Filter bubbles are information ecosystems created by algorithms that personalize the content we see online, especially on social media. These algorithms curate content based on our past behavior, such as the articles we read, the videos we watch, the things we "like" and the people we follow. While this personalized content may feel convenient, it can trap users in a selfreinforcing cycle of information that aligns with their existing beliefs and preferences, limiting exposure to diverse viewpoints.   
Social media platforms, by repeatedly exposing users to extreme content through algorithms, can lead to radicalization. A concrete example of radicalization via social media is the case of Aleksandr Bissonnette, the perpetrator of the 2017 Quebec City Mosque shooting in Canada.
His radicalization was heavily influenced by his consumption of far-right content online. 
Bissonnette, a university student, initially showed no significant signs of extremist tendencies. However, he spent increasing amounts of time on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, where he regularly consumed content from far-right commentators and conspiracy theorists. The more Bissonnette interacted with this type of content, the more the platforms fed him similar material: he became trapped in a filter bubble. Isolated within this filter bubble, Bissonnette's perception of immigrants and Muslims became increasingly negative, distorting his worldview.   
On January 29, 2017, Bissonnette entered the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City and opened fire, killing six Muslim men during evening prayers and injuring many others. It was later revealed through investigations that he had spent months consuming far-right, Islamophobic content on social media before committing the attack. 
That’s why the Global Media and Information Literacy week is so important: misinformation and radicalization through filter bubbles destroy lives. 
 
To mark this year’s campaign about the Global Media and Information Literacy Week, Praxis Greece organized an event on 24th October in Serres, to raise awareness about the issue of filter bubbles.  Participants learnt about this topic in a fun way: Indeed, the café/bar Fuzzy Logic welcomed us to create an escape game “Escape the filter bubble”. In addition, the escape room center Breakout Greece (www.breakout.gr) helped us to create the game, and they lent us some material as well. We hope that participants have understood filter bubbles and their dangers, and they will be careful when being on social media.   
We would like to thank again Fuzzy Logic and Breakout Greece for their cooperation and their precious help. 
 
How could you become more information literate?   
One effective strategy is to break out of algorithmic traps by turning off personalized recommendations and cleaning up your browsing history. Minimizing your data footprint is crucial, as algorithms rely on tracking your online behavior to curate content. Regularly deleting your search history, clearing cookies, and using privacy-conscious tools like DuckDuckGo or VPNs can limit the data collected about you, reducing the influence of algorithms on the information you consume.   
Engaging in healthy skepticism is equally crucial. This means questioning the validity and motivations behind the information you encounter and being cautious of emotionally charged headlines designed to provoke rather than inform. It’s important to look for unsupported claims and always ask yourself who benefits from the message being conveyed.   
Diversifying your information diet is another key step. Seek out a wide range of sources, from mainstream media to academic journals, and deliberately follow voices that challenge your viewpoints.    
Understanding media bias plays a significant role in this process. All media are differently politically oriented and being aware of these biases enables you to critically evaluate the content you consume and compare different perspectives on the same issue. Tools like AllSides can provide a balanced view by showing how different outlets cover the same stories. Incorporating these habits can help you break free from filter bubbles and become a more critical and well-rounded consumer of information in an increasingly complex digital world.   

Léa is a French volunteer involved in the Global Media and Information Literacy Week.

The universe is a huge and fascinating place that shapes our world. It stretches over billions of light-years and contains countless galaxies, each with its own stars and planets. A light  year is a unit of distance, measuring how far light travels in one year, used in astronomy. One  light year is about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers. One of the most exciting  discoveries in space is black holes. Black holes are areas where the gravity is so strong  nothing can escape, not even light. They form when very large stars collapse.

​Our solar system is made up of the Sun and eight planets. The Earth is special because it  has life and an atmosphere that allows us to breathe. However, Earth faces serious problems, especially due to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are  causing temperatures to rise. This affects the weather and living conditions on our planet.

​Space research plays an important role in fighting climate change. Satellites and space probes collect important data about the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere. These technologies help scientists track changes in the climate and understand their effects. This information helps governments and organizations create plans to reduce emissions.

​Furthermore, space research leads to new technologies. What we learn from exploring space  can inspire improvements in energy production, such as better solar panels. These  advancements can help speed up the shift to renewable energy and reduce our dependency  on fossil fuels.  

In summary, exploring space shows how connected our lives on Earth are to the larger  universe. To secure our future, we need to study both our planet and the mysteries of space.

When I started to worry about scheduling an appointment at the psychiatrist, when I had to remember every day to take my medication, when every week I had to make time for psychology sessions, when going to the therapy group meant doing homework on self-knowledge at home. It was then that I understood the real need to take care of our mental health and that of others.

Sometimes we go through complicated times when we don't have the necessary tools to cope and enough resilience to learn and know how to adapt to these complicated situations.

“Anxiety and feelings of depression brought on by the effects of the pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine, climate change, loss of bio-diversity, unemployment and the rising cost of living, pressures from the digital sphere and social networks, have degraded already precarious levels of mental health, especially for children and young people.” According to European commission.

This is one of the multiple causes that produce mental health problems in people. Unfortunately, there are many times that it is not only a simple vital moment that people go through, but it leads to much more serious problems such as suicide.

Suicide is 4 times more common in men than in women, while mental health problems are more frequent in women. In 2021 suicide in the European Union was the leading cause of death in young people aged 15-29 years.

It could be your brother, your father, your friend, your partner, your teacher, your co-worker, your student, your child, your neighbor or the person you always meet on the street and greets you with such joy and enthusiasm.

It could have been me.

It is about deaths, about lives, about people.

I am not an expert, I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist and I do not work in the health field. But I was able to help myself, I could and can help my friends and family and I try to help the people around me.

Asking for help is one of the hardest things you have to go through when you want to change, improve or work on yourself and your mental health.

We may think that we can't do anything to help others, but a simple gesture can mean a lot to some people who just need to be heard.

Caring, accompanying, accepting, respecting, and understanding that there are times when life can be complicated but it is not worth prioritizing not wanting to live. Listening prevents. Being there creates trust and bonding. Talking lengthens life.

Clara is a Spanish volunteer involved in the World Mental Health Day

Everybody enjoys taking a vacation from time to time. While vacations can be used to relax from the stress of daily life, they also represent an opportunity to learn about new cultures. The following article will discuss how tourism can act as an instrument for fostering peace

Nevertheless, tourism can have a negative influence as well. Itoften damages the natural e nvironment. Often, the overuse of natural resources, like water, is a huge issue. For instance, golf courses in tropical regions can use as much water as a rural village of 60,000 people.

Tourism can have many positive effects, such as building tolerance and promoting reconciliation processes. However, there can be negative aspects as well, like the overcrowding of typical touristic destinations. Every state and individual should aim to make tourism as sustainable as possible to minimize its negative impacts. By doing so, everyone can benefit from the many positive aspects that tourism provides

Dorothea is a German volunteer involved in the World Tourism Day.