Rome, Italy – At half past five in the afternoon today, July 7, the 40th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference here came to an end.
The five days from July 3 to 7 have now become the most memorable moments of my life.
During the period, I presided over a conference attended by 181 countries all over the world, the names of some of which I never ever heard before like Kiribati.
It was a historic event for me personally, a farm boy who saw the hardships of farmers and who understood the dreams and aspirations of the poorest of the poor, because I became the first Filipino to chair the United Nations FAO conference.
During the whole week, I made sure that I wore my national attire, the Barong Tagalog, and that the pin of the Philippine flag was ever present in the left lapel of my Barong.
It was a proud moment for me as a Filipino, especially so since the feedback received by the Secretariat from the participants expressed admiration at the way the Philippines handled the Chairmanship of the Conference.
In fact, everything went smoothly that the Conference ended a day ahead of schedule, July 8.
Before the end of the Conference today, the official FAO photographer took my official photo which will be displayed in the gallery showing all the portraits of all previous Chairpersons of the Conference.
My official photo will be placed alongside the photos of other Chairpersons who all wore dark suits.
I am sure my Barong Tagalog will stand out and the pin of the Philippine Flag on my lapel will make everybody know that once upon a time a small Filipino who grew up in the farms of Mindanao banged the gavel and presided over the conference of nations to address food production and world hunger.
My dream is that one day, my grandson, Duane Aniceto Piñol-Solis, will visit the FAO Headquarters here in Rome and see my photo and feel proud to be a Filipino.
(Official FAO Photo taken by Alessandra Benedetti while the photo of the gallery was taken by Bong Piñol)
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