ASoG and Econ’s Edgar Valenzuela appointed as SDSN PH Project Coordinator for SDG2 Zero Hunger

Ateneo School of Government Adjunct Professor and School of Social Sciences’ Economics Department faculty Mr Edgardo T Valenzuela was newly appointed as the Project Coordinator for SDG2 Zero Hunger of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Philippines (SDSN PH). The announcement was formally made during the Leadership Council Meeting of SDSN PH last February 9, 2023.

Prior to the appointment, Valenzuela has been spearheading the "Informal Working Group on SDG2" composed of advocates of food security from the Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Davao University, and Xavier University-Cagayan de Oro. With his stewardship, the group has organized 17 webinars since its inception in 2020.

Read the appointment notice from SDSN PH below.

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We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Edgardo T Valenzuela (Edgar) as the SDSN PH Project Coordinator for SDG2 Zero Hunger effective 01 February 2023. He is a recognized global advocate on food security and nutrition working on issues related to hunger eradication, land tenure, and sustainable rural development.

Mr Valenzuela brings with us over 40 years of development and food sustainability experience at national, regional, and global levels. This includes his remarkable roles in Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN) in Bangkok (1979-1982) and in Rome (1990-2012), Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) from (1983-1990), and Asian Development Bank (2016-2018).

Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor (core faculty) at the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) and a faculty member of the Economics Department of the School of Social Sciences (SOSS), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU). Concurrently, he teaches the online course “How to Sustainably Feed 10 Billion People by 2050” at the Institut Catholique d’Arts et Metiers (ICAM) in France.

Since 2020, Mr Valenzuela has been coordinating for what was known as the "Informal Working Group on SDG2" composed of food security advocates from SDSN PH, AdMU, Ateneo de Davao University, and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan. The group has since organized 17 webinars which have been aspiring to mainstream the thinking of shifting from a narrow focus only on single sectors related to hunger towards a systems thinking approach highlighting the interconnectedness of our food problems and challenges.

Outside of food systems, Mr Valenzuela serves as the President of the Overseas Filipinos’ Society for the Promotion of Economic Security (OFSPES) and the co-coordinator of the OFW capacity-building program called the Ateneo Overseas Filipinos’  Leadership, Innovation, Financial Literacy and Social Entrepreneurship (ALSE/OF-LIFE) Program whose network spans 25 countries. He also co-authored books on OFW empowerment.

Under the supervision of Mr Valenzuela, the SDSN PH SDG2 Zero Hunger Project will continue to synergize the research and community engagement endeavors related to food security and food systems of various members of the Philippine network. The working group of the project will continue to organize series of webinars and related information dissemination campaigns on the topic.

On behalf of SDSN Philippines, we would like to thank Sir Edgar for accepting the role of advancing the systems thinking mindset for food-related issues, as well as ensuring the proper representation of various sectors in the food discourse. We request for everyone's usual support and cooperation to Mr Valenzuela and the SDG2 Zero Hunger Project.

Interested members who wish to contribute actively to the SDG2 Zero Hunger Project and/or who would like to propose projects for SDSN PH to adopt may express their interest by sending a message to sdsnph@gmail.com.

[Sgd] Emmanuel D. Delocado PhD

Country Manager

SDSN Philippines

[Sgd] Charlotte Kendra Gotangco Gonzales MEM PhD

Leadership Council Chair

SDSN Philippines