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FAO Regional Nutrition Meeting

Our expert elicitation workshops in India in July were featured in a press brief in IRRI's website. We only realised how far-reaching its reach was when Matty got contacted by the FAO Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific a few weeks later, inviting us to present our results in their upcoming symposium in Bangkok in November.


Of course, we jumped on the chance to present our work... after all, it's not everyday that we get invited by one of our dream agencies... the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Yes, the United Nations!! This year is fast becoming the year I get exposure in the UN circles. Does this mean that I will get a chance to work with people from there? I hope so.

Anyway, for the FAO Symposium, we trooped to the Bangkok Convention Centre. I realised quickly how big a megapolis Bangkok is when I didn't recognise any of the buildings in the area. Apparently, this is a different district from where the International Rice Congress was held in 2014. All I know is that the venue of the FAO symposium is right beside some of the biggest shopping centres in the city.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go shopping or to explore the city (again). I really need to go to Bangkok on holiday so I could see the sights.

This was the venue of the regional meeting
Despite not being able to go shopping, I was able to see HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn again. It's not everyday that I'm in the presence of royalty and protocol officers so it was quite thrilling. The last time I was around royalty was when the Danish Crown Princess Mary walked around the UNLEASH exhibits in August. It was Matty's first time to be up close to royalty whose constituents observe the protocol that his country mates don't when the Belgian royal family visits the non-royals.

The stage is set for the arrival of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn 
Matty got invited to speak about our project on gastronomic systems research
After a series of interesting plenary talks about the state of nutrition in the different countries in the region, it was time to break out the group into smaller sessions where we talked about interventions to help the double-edged nutrition problem (under- and over-nutrition). Matty talked about our work on gastronomic systems research in India... the abstract and the slide deck of which I prepared with the rest of the team. We received a lot of questions about the theory behind our ideas. Some staff from  FAO also asked us for our paper... they're trying to find ways to use our ideas in developing their own intervention strategies.

At the conference dinner, we were wowed by the culinary magic concocted by Chef Katsuhiro Nakamura, Japan's first Michelin-starred chef and a UN Goodwill Ambassador. Unfortunately, he cooked a seafood dish... Naturally, I just had to listen to other people enjoy the dish while I ate meats and vegetables.

Photo op with Japan's first Michelin star recipient, Chef Katsuhiro Nakamura

As dinner wound down, puppeteers showed up to perform a show featuring Ravana, the primary antagonist of Ramayana. Food and Thai culture in one evening. 

What a way to end a conference, right?
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