3 November 2025

A personal tribute, by Charlotte Dufour

On July 24^th 2025, I was reviewing the draft report prepared by my colleague Abigail which summarised the outcomes of the informal dialogues on “Invisible yet essential ingredients for transformative policies and governance” , which the Conscious Food Systems Alliance had organised a few months before. During these dialogues, a total of 50 senior policy makers and advisors had collectively reflected upon the personal skills and qualities needed to drive transformation. They identified the ability to build trust, to navigate complexity, to act with conviction and authenticity… These required deep listening, humility, the cultivation of respect, practicing reciprocity and nurturing care… As I read on, the image of David Nabarro formed in my mind, and I found myself using this image to check no essential quality had been forgotten.

After all, the very idea for these informal dialogues was born from my experience of working with David and the 4SD Food Systems Summit Dialogues Support Team, in 2020 and 2021: for months, we accompanied national convenors from over 150 countries in bringing together diverse stakeholders to confront their views about controversial and polarizing themes within our food systems. The process required us to bring into the open skills that are essential for governance and policy making but seldom if ever talked about. The weekly convenor connection sessions we hosted provided a safe space for convenors to share their doubts, vulnerability, and the creative ways they found to overcome obstacles. The sharing was made possible by David’s inspiring and care-full convening, and Florence’s (his wife and 4SD co-founder/managing director) warm facilitation. Under their leadership, our team nurtured caring relationships with each convenor. I felt privileged to witness the transformations that were unfolding, individually and collectively, as we co-created spaces for diversifying and multiplying connections, a core element for accelerating systems change.

The report of the CoFSA informal dialogues felt complete. We sent it for design, aiming to have it online for the Food Systems Summit Stock Take in Addis Abeba that was to start 2 days later.  The next evening, Florence’s message came: “David has left us this afternoon…”. The shock, the grief veiled my mind and heart for days. But with them came more clarity: there was so much more to David’s magic that could not be captured in a report…

Light-shining empathy and bridge-building leadership

The first time I saw David “in action” was in Addis Ababa, in July 2010, in a conference on agriculture for health and nutrition convened by the CGIAR. He was facilitating a panel of leaders on nutrition. I saw him address each speaker in a way that shone light on their unique contribution, skill or achievement. Each one of them felt seen, respected, and spoke from the heart. A special energy emerged from the panel as David wove these individual lights into a collective momentum. I watched in awe. “This energy can only emerge if it is born from authenticity”, I thought. 

Life gifted me with the possibility of working with David in many ways after that: as part of my work with FAO on nutrition-sensitive food systems, in the facilitation of 4SD Immersions in Living Systems Leadership, in the Food Systems Summit Dialogues… I saw his light-weaving magic time and time again: in the building of the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, in the ebola response, in the launch of Agenda 2030, in making Nature central to the climate agenda, in the COVID response…

Each time, with his visionary leadership, extraordinary energy and deep empathy, he mobilised dedicated change-makers, building their confidence in themselves and the collective, empowering them to amplify their creativity by bringing them together in service of an inspiring vision for the wellbeing of people and planet. 

Of course, he also saw the shadows, was deeply aware of underlying personal, institutional and political dynamics, and could occasionally be impatient or irritated. But I rarely if ever heard him express a criticism or judgement of others, and if he did it was accompanied by an understanding of the circumstances, challenges or constraints that could be driving a particular behaviour. He was a deep advocate and practitioner of “meeting people where they are”, including with their limitations, fears and doubts. After all, he was deeply aware of his own and invested tireless work and dedication to overcome them. 

Lighting individual paths

Not only did David shine light on the collective path forward, he also shed light on individual paths. I can’t count the number of people who told me they had had a life-changing conversation with him. First there is the surprise: “I was surprised he remembered me – he knows so many people!” And then: “he told me something that rang so true to my heart and had a deep influence on my next steps.”  

Of course, he did that with me too. The funny thing is that he seemed unaware that he was saying something wholly life-transformative when he did. He was too humble to notice how deeply he touched people. 

A legacy of love

Amongst the many enlightening things he told me, the most life-changing came in September 2015, shortly after he was nominated Special Advisor to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon on Agenda 2030. We were casually chatting and I asked him how was “his new job” (a rather big one). His answer: “it’s fascinating, because the SDGs are truly transformative. And you know, there is an unwritten 18^th SDG, that infuses all the others, and it’s about love and joy.” He then went on to talk about something else, not noticing that my soul had been touched by a lightning bolt – one that revealed the path I longed to walk. That path made me leave my job two years later, opened the way to more collaborations with David and Florence and, ultimately, to the fascinating and heart-expanding journey that is unfolding with the Conscious Food Systems Alliance. 

All I have done since that day is inspired and directed towards this SDG that I consider the ultimate goal and activator of the other 17 SDGs. We have since named it “SDG0” – seeing it as the alpha and omega of Agenda 2030, as the hole at the centre of the rainbow circle that makes Agenda 2030 whole. 

So when exactly 10 years later, during a high-level meeting held in UNDP alongside the 2025 UNGA, the Prime Minister of Bhutan – the land of Gross National Happiness – launched the journey to the first Conscious Food Systems Summit to be held in September 2026, saying “The summit is not just about food; it is about how we live, how we lead, and how we love — how we love ourselves, each other, and the planet”, my heart leapt. I felt David’s smiling and humble presence. My heart filled with warmth, knowing his legacy of love would continue shining through many of us, and that he will be with us in this journey to Bhutan and beyond. 

Thank you, David, for your heartful and visionary leadership and continued presence as we honour and build on your legacy.