Public Kick-Off Event for Nyélení 2007 in Washington, DC

Grassroots International will be featured in a public event to kick-off Nyélení 2007 – Forum for Food Sovereignty. The event, hosted by the National Family Farm Coalition, will be held at Busboys and Poets, February 19th in Washington, D.C. Below is the invitation to attend. All are welcome.

Come celebrate the domestic and international struggle for food sovereignty:
A two part event at BusBoys and Poets on February 19, 2007

The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) invites you to join us at two special events on Monday February 19th (President’s Day) in Washington, D.C at Busboys and Poets starting at 4:30 PM.

As the culmination of our winter meeting, NFFC and Grassroots International will facilitate a workshop in furthering the domestic campaign on Food Sovereignty. Innovative tools and methods will be shared to scale up the ongoing work for justice in the food system.

Immediately following the workshop from 6:30 – 9:30 is a dinner celebration and “send-off” for the U.S. delegation participating in the “Nyélení 2007 – World Forum for Food Sovereignty” in Mali from February 23-27. The U.S. delegation represents farmers, farmworkers, fisher-folk, NGO’s, faith based and citizen/consumer organizations. A 45 person delegation from North America (U.S., Mexico, and Canada) will be joining 450 delegates from around the world in Mali. To learn more about Nyélení, visit http://www.nyeleni2007.org/.

This event co-hosted by Busboys and Poets will present the local, regional, national and international approaches to food sovereignty through the voices of those attending the Forum. A celebratory feast of small-scale family producers’ food reflects the cultures represented by the delegation through the sourcing and/or donations of Louisiana shrimp, humanely raised poultry, wild rice, local salad, and cheese from Cedar Grove/Family Farm Defenders in Wisconsin.

Please RSVP to NFFC at nffc@nffc.net as to whether you plan to attend the workshop and/or the dinner by Thursday, February 15th. We are asking for a $20 minimum donation for the dinner celebration. There is no charge for the afternoon workshop. There will also be an opportunity to bid on items donated by family farmers and local supportive businesses at our silent auction.

For more information on the work of our organizations, please check out their website: http://www.nffc.net/.

Questions? Call 202-543-5675 or e-mail nffc@nffc.net