The World Food Program (WFP), which was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Rome, Italy, has been aiming to promote new strategies and initiatives to help raise awareness about the issue of world hunger and combat it. It’s also worth noting that the WFP’s programs are geared at assisting almost 11 percent, according to Brittanica, of the world’s population who are food insecure. Zero Hunger is the second of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to end hunger, enhance food security and nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture around the world. It also provides assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters by collecting and transporting food to disaster zones. Thereby, the WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization and due to such efforts, the WFP was awarded the Noble Prize back in 2020 for its efforts to battle hunger, improve peace in conflict-affected areas, and act as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.
This is a large organization with a strong presence in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt. But in what way? Well, WFP empowers women and men in Egypt by providing them with quality education, healthy nutrition, and training to help them design and lead better futures. Their most recent project, a cookbook titled “Empowering Women through Cooking,” (EWC) is actually more than just a cookbook. It’s the ideal blend of poignant human stories of hardship, triumph, and purpose, as well as a call to action for long-term change.
“Empowering Women Through Cooking” is a collection of 54 Egyptian women who come from different religions, socioeconomic levels, struggles, and abilities sharing their tales and recipes. Some of the notable women in the cookbook include Azza Fahmy, the Egyptian jewellery designer, and the founder of the design house Azza Fahmy Jewellery’s, and Hend Sabri, the talented Tunisian actress who mesmerized us with her heartfelt roles.
This project focuses on how civil society, government, corporate sector, impact funds, and aid agencies may collaborate to promote more initiatives that strive to empower women socially and economically while simultaneously giving back to the community through the UN World Food Program. It’s worth noting that the WFP has already published a cookbook of this caliber, with the EWC Cookbook in Jordan becoming one of Amazon’s top sellers! Consequently, the EWC cookbook Egypt is now available as part of a global effort that spans 17 nations. This cookbook offers stories of empowerment, tips on how to pursue one’s passion and become an entrepreneur, and real-life instances of women influencing communities today, all while portraying Egypt’s rich culinary legacy through a unique approach.
So, who was working on this project? It’s 7 Circles and the United Nations World Food Program who led this initiative to ensure that individuals and groups from all walks of life come together to promote women’s empowerment and the importance of such issues in our society. Additionally, part of the proceedings heads to Feeding All, which is an organization that supports the UN World Food Program.
The Nile Terrace – Semiramis Intercontinental Cairo, located in Corniche El Nil, has hosted the debut of this cookbook on Tuesday, May 24th, 2022 and the event went from 6 to 9 p.m. The partners for this event included: Beyti, Monappetit, Yallazest, Stardust, and Semiramis Intercontinental. This was a multi-issue event that primarily highlighted the strength of Egyptian women and how their preservation and uplifting stories have affected future generations.