Young Macedonian artist wins World Food Day poster contest honoring food heroes

World Food Day 2020 was a global call to thank food heroes – farmers and workers throughout the food supply chain – who, no matter the circumstances, provide food to our communities and beyond. This inspired Pavel Milanovski, a 14-year-old student from North Macedonia, to turn his artistic talent and imagination into a winning poster honoring farmers as #FoodHeroes.

Pavel won first prize in the 13–15 age category of FAO’s 2020 global World Food Day Poster Contest. As a young artist, Pavel has won many national and international artistic contests on the topics of rural life, sustainable living, and care for the environment.

On the question about what inspired him to draw the winning poster, Pavel explained that he was excited to help FAO raise awareness around World Food Day and the important role of food heroes, as well as creating more sustainable food systems, and the simple actions that each one of us can take to grow, nourish, sustain together.

When Pavel was a small child, his parents would often bring him to a nearby village to buy locally-grown fresh produce from a farmer. His thought was that by choosing local, we can help smallholder farmers who produce our food, their local economy, and the environment.

“Respecting food means respecting food workers and the natural resources in our environment,” said Pavel. In his poster, he explains, “A farmer is a superhero and not someone who is struggling to make a living.” Therefore, according to Pavel, “We must not take food and the people that provide it for granted. They should be supported to grow a variety of food to nourish people and sustain our planet.”

Pavel and hundreds of fellow contestants around the world are the champions of FAO's aim to encourage respect for food, the people who produce it, the resources it takes, and, most importantly, those who go without it. Passing on this knowledge to new generations is vital for the future of our food and a Zero Hunger world. 

19 January 2021, Skopje, North Macedonia