The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is accepting applications for participation in an upcoming global meeting on whole genome sequencing (WGS) for food safety and water surveillance within the One Health framework. The call for applications is open until November 4, 2024.

The meeting will take place in Rome, Italy on May 6–8, 2025. The objectives of the global conference are to:

• Capture and discuss the current landscape of food safety and water surveillance efforts
• Highlight existing initiatives aimed at better understanding foodborne and waterborne pathogens, and the relevance to improving human health and water safety
• Raise awareness on concrete benefits of the use of WGS for food safety and water management at the national level
• Discuss the way forward on global collaborative actions including data generation and data-sharing
• Discuss and form a technical task force, which will conduct follow-up activities to gather evidence-based data and information for the drafting of a whitepaper illustrating the state of WGS and what is required to improve water safety and human health, especially related to low- and middle-income countries.

While the primary target audience for the conference are government decision-makers working in the area of food safety and water surveillance, the meeting will welcome speakers and participants with various technical backgrounds from different sectors, including government, public service, international and intergovernmental organizations, academia and research, nonprofit, and industry.