News Release

10 December 2003

STYLE AND SUBSTANCE: BENETTON AND WFP HOST PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

NEW YORK - The World Food Programme and Benetton, the Italian clothing designer, will present an exhibit of photographs from their joint advertising campaign to raise awareness of hunger and show how WFP uses food aid not just to help people survive in crises, but to rebuild their lives and become self-reliant.

The photos, which come from a prize winning $18 million advertising campaign run by Benetton primarily in Europe and Asia earlier this year, show the beneficiaries of various types of food aid. Street children, victims of war and sexual violence, and Afghan women abused by the Taliban are among the subjects --all ordinary people who have overcome their hunger and moved on to productive lives.

Mrs. Kofi Annan and former Senator George McGovern will unveil the exhibit in a ceremony to take place on Wednesday, December 17 2003 at the UN Visitors Hall. The building and exhibit is open to the public from Thursday, December 18, 2003 through Saturday, January 31, 2004.

"Not only has Benetton displayed their generosity by raising awareness of the issue of hunger but they have also extended their kindness to include a $120,000 cash donation to help improve the lives of the hungry poor," said Judy Cheng-Hopkins, the Director of the WFP New York office. "We applaud Benetton's commitment to the cause of ending hunger and note that the advertising campaign has already had a powerful impact in raising awareness of hunger and of the need for action."

The advertising campaign not only ran in most major European publications, but also appeared in Asian and North American ones. This in turn led to dozens of radio, television and newspaper reports focusing on hunger, how the media reports on it, and the role of the private sector in promoting humanitarian goals.

"We chose to work with WFP because we share their commitment and their tangible initiatives," said Luciano Benetton. "We are supporting them just as we have supported other humanitarian organizations in the past with campaign in which we believe absolutely because it encompasses a number of social issues war, disease, marginalization which we have already addressed in our previous communication projects."

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For more information please contact:
Trevor Rowe
WFP Spokesman
North America
Tel. 212-963-5196

World Food Programme 2003