The 2008 celebration is dedicated to the challenges of food security. "Global Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy" is the theme chosen for this year's celebration of World Food Day (WFD) on 16 October, the anniversary of the founding of FAO in 1945. WFD is commemorated in near 150 countries. With the number of underfed people surpassing 850 million, the high price of food imposes a greater burden on those that suffer hunger, but also on those at the brink of poverty. The activities of WFD aim to raise awareness on a global scale to the effort to reduce the effects of increasingly extreme climate conditions for agriculture and the impact of bio-fuels on food production. On the occasion of World Food Day, from the 14th to the 17th of Octuber, FAO will host a meeting of the Global Committee on Food Security to debate the current hunger situation in the world and the implications for the future. During the gathering, special events will take place dealing with the specific effects of the soaring food price situation and the related questions of food security and policies to combat the situation. The official WFD ceremony will take place at FAO Headquarters in Rome with the participation of member states, representatives of civil society, and, for the first time, representatives of the European Association of Professional Soccer Leagues and the African Soccer Confederation. Among the many events of World Food Day and Telefood, there will be symposia, round table discussions, concerts and an annual global teleconference on hunger issues. In addition, there will be a special ceremony at UN Heaquarters in New York on the 17th of October, the third annual Race for Food in Rome on the 19th, with an expected 4,000 participants, and a global candlelight vigil on the 21st of the same month, which will be celebrated in Rome and several cities in different countries.
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