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Catholic universities initiative to reduce world hunger

As part of the University Initiative on Hope in the Jubilee Year promoted by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences organized a scientific colloquium entitled "The Hope for a Nourished Planet: What is the Agenda for Catholic Universities?" on May 5 and 6, 2025, at the Cremona campus.
 


The Catholic University of Croatia was represented at this event by Rector Prof. Željko Tanjić, PhD, and the Head of the University Chair of Theology, Associate Prof. Zoran Turza, PhD.

The event began on Monday, May 5, with the presence, among others, of the Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Prof. Elena Beccalli, PhD, and Mons. Carlo Maria Polvani, Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. Its goal was to encourage multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogue within the university community in Europe and Africa, in close cooperation with national and international associations and institutions.

In order to actively engage with the theme of the Jubilee 2025 Spes non confundit and to promote the Path of Hope, the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, in collaboration with the International Federation of Catholic Universities and the Gravissimum Educationis Foundation of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, is launching an initiative to strengthen cooperation among Catholic universities in addressing one of the world’s most pressing challenges: the reduction of undernutrition, which continues to affect a significant portion of the global population. This initiative arises, among other things, from data presented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), indicating that 9% of the world’s population suffered from hunger in the past decade, with the figure rising to as much as 20% in Africa.

In their concluding statement, the participants expressed a shared belief that Catholic universities should provide young people with advanced scientific and technical skills, combined with a deep ethical vision, with the aim of shaping future generations of local and global leaders capable of confronting such major challenges.

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Rector Tanjić and Professor Turza met with Rector Professor Beccalli, with whom they discussed both the existing and future cooperation between the Catholic University of Croatia and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.

Rector Tanjić also took part in a meeting organized by the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) concerning the UNI_TED! project, which was attended, in addition to Rector Beccalli, by the IFCU President Prof. Isabel Capeloa Gil, PhD, as well as rectors from Spain, Hungary, Italy, and other countries.