This discussion paper, written by Kati Van de Velde & Dirk Holemans from GEF partner Oikos, has been published as part of the GEF transnational project Fair and Healthy Food.
The paper explores the failings of the current agricultural and food system, and the possibilities for a transition to a sustainable and fair system, one which revaluates food as a human right, a public good and a commons.
As part of the transnational project Fair and Healthy Food, GEF aims to reach different actors and bring them together to explore alternative solutions and reforms to the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and how to redesign food systems around agroecological principles.
Alongside exploring examples of cities developing their own outstanding food policies, the project will also examine how regional sustainable food systems can revitalise rural communities.
Rising public concern around climate change and biodiversity loss has led to increasing attention on our food system as both a cause but also a potential contributing solution to environmental breakdown. While efforts are underway to reform European food and agricultural policies in order to better protect nature and rural livelihoods, growing numbers of people are becoming actively involved in reshaping food systems at local level.
Such efforts are demonstrating a creative resurgence of ideas and practices of how we can recover the multidimensional values of food as a public good rather than allow it to remain as a means for private corporate profit, and to help reduce our own personal environmental footprint and retrieve some control over our food supply.
The event proposes that food is not only a vital source of personal well-being but offers a route toward greater citizen engagement. Growing food in cities offers numerous benefits for the urban environment and community resilience and can improve availability of fresh, nourishing produce especially for those for whom access is restricted by income. Above all, it enables us to re-establish the central purpose of a food system: to produce food sustainably to feed people adequately.
This day-long event is an opportunity to pool ideas, share experiences and celebrate the power of community in growing, cooking and eating food.
You are encouraged to book early for this event as we will restrict numbers in order to facilitate an engaged, constructive and convivial experience.
09:15 – 09:30
Gather in the Lecture Room of Nano Nagle Place
09:30 – 11:00
Two keynote presentations will address new thinking that is helping us to redesign civic food systems led by Henk Renting, Researcher and Lecturer in Urban Food Systems at AERES University of Applied Sciences, Almere, the Netherlands and Orla O’Donovan, Lecturer at the School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork. The session will be introduced and chaired by Colin Sage, Co-Founder and former Chair of the Cork Food Policy Council.
11:00 – 12:45
In order to enable full engagement by participants this session will be organised as a World Café, and convened by Klaus Harvey of Transition Town Kinsale. Coffee and nibbles will be available and there will be short presentations as inputs to deliberations from Food Historian Regina Sexton, GIS Expert Tomás Kelly and others.
12:45 – 13:30
Report back from table hosts, discussion and elaboration of final action points.
13:30 – 14:00
Walk to St. John’s Central College, Sawmill Street, Cork (a short 5 minute walk).
14:00 – 16:00
We will join the ‘street feast’ that is being hosted by La Cocina Pública, a Chilean theatre group that will be based in the Cork South Parish neighbourhood as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival. Please note that the registration fee will include lunch here.
Speakers
La Cocina Pública / The Public Kitchen
Housed in a shipping container La Cocina Pública is a mobile kitchen that brings people together through theatre, food and dining.
Travelling from Chile through cities and neighbourhoods in Europe in search of local recipes, aromas, practices and customs, La Cocina Publica will work with Cork’s South Parish residents to share stories and food that will be enjoyed at delicious collective dining events – with Chilean and Cork artists, storytellers, singers and musicians providing you with memories and entertainment. Your ticket includes a meal, but to encourage a family-friendly atmosphere for all ages, no alcohol will be served at these events.
This event costs €20 per person (plus booking fee), which covers entrance to all events on Saturday, including morning coffee as well as lunch during the Cocina Pública street feast.
Please secure your place by booking here – early booking is RECOMMENDED as numbers will be restricted in order to facilitate an engaged, constructive and convivial experience.
Context
The Summer Camp ‘Fighting for Our Common Planet’ is part of Federation of Young European Greens’ annual project on commons. Commons refer to shared resources and social practices that are maintained by communities in a sustainable manner. Good management of commons offers a sustainable and accessible alternative to the current centralised and dominant role of the state and market.
The Summer Camp will focus on environmental commons, particularly on how the climate can be managed in a sustainable, inclusive and participatory way.
About the event
A central part of the programme – ‘Climate Change Summer Workshop’, organised by the Green European Foundation – is built around Climate Change. It aims to increase awareness of the importance of combating climate change among Young Greens, and a better understanding of climate negotiations and what actions are needed on the EU and national level to make a difference. Moreover, young people will be trained to bring climate change into the public debate and make it a relevant subject.
Programme
Friday July 27
12:00-13:30 ‘Looking into the Paris Agreement’
Introduction to climate negotiations – understanding how international stakeholders cooperate to mitigate temperature rises and adapt to climate change. We will look into what the Paris Agreement brought to the table, what were the commitments by different European countries, and how far are we in reaching them. From FYEG’s Climate Change Working group we will learn the relation between the European Union and nation states when it comes to national policies related to climate change.
14:30-16:00 ‘Towards the climate change solutions’ (with a livestream)
Three guest speakers coming from different backgrounds are invited to discuss the main challenges faced within international climate negotiations and in the elaboration of European Climate Policies (Mitigation, adaptation, North/South Solidarity, Transfer of knowledge, Loss and damage, etc.). The panel will address questions such as: Why is COP24 in Poland important? What policies are planned in relation to combating climate change around Europe and in the EU? What changes can we expect in the upcoming elections in regards to climate change policies? Is Europe ready to mitigate the consequences of climate change? What are the next steps in the fight against climate change and what are the entry points through which young people can influence the outcome of climate negotiations?
Speakers: Yan Dupas, Political advisor in the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament (tbc); Kelsey de Porte, Jonge Klimaatbeweging; Luka Tomac, Green Action/Friends of the Earth Croatia (tbc); Moderator: Zuzana Pavelkova, FYEG’s co-spokesperson
Saturday July 28
12:00-13:30 ‘Storytelling about Climate’
With the engagement of a guest-trainer from the Green European Journal (tbc) and a famous French vlogger Vincent Verzat (Partager C’est Sympa), participants will be trained about efficient ways of communicating climate change to a wider audience. Emphasis of the training will be put on how to create a positive narrative on combating climate change, and how to incentivise people about the issue. The program will be based on the principles of non-formal education and intercultural learning. We strive for an active, inclusive and direct communication and sharing of knowledge.
Practicalities:
The workshop is open to the public. Those interested can receive information about available places at project.manager@fyeg.org.
The event ‘Climate Change Summer Workshop’ is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of the Federation of Young European Greens and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
Cities are becoming a new and hopeful transnational governance level. They are organising themselves in a whole tissue of networks (Fearless Cities, Fabcities, etc.), working together in domains like climate policy, renewable energy and urban economy.
At the same time, citizens are developing a whole range of urban commons, based on co-operation and an ethics of care. Tired of only being a powerless consumer or a passive citizen, we get active as maker, urban farmer, solidarity volunteer, user of shared resources, civic or social entrepreneur, etc. This goes along with the establishment of new organisations and infrastructures like fab labs, energy co-ops, co-working spaces, urban food production plots, and many more.
In recent years, we have seen cities like Ghent and Bologna moving a step further, establishing structures and processes that aim at building synergies between the public and the commons domain. This is part of a new political vision, the Partner State. So, a partner city sustains and gives incentives to alternative civil and economic institutions, like the commons and cooperatives. The conference, as part of this year’s transnational project around Urban Commons Transitions, therefore aims to look at these developments of collaborative city-making and to examine those prototypes of transformative cities as a driving force towards socio-ecological societies.
Lately institutions, research groups and organisations were created to investigate how commons could be integrated in a more sustainable way in the vivid networks of cities. During this conference, organised with the support of the Flemish Think Tank Oikos, experts from different projects and institutions will inspire you with their knowledge and findings about sustainable commons in cities.
19:30 – 19:40 INTRODUCTION Dirk Holemans, Director of Oikos and GEF Board member
19:40 – 20:20 THE VISION OF TWO EXPERTS Michel Bauwens & Elena De Nictolis
20:20 – 20:50 THREE STORIES ON URBAN COMMONS
Marie Haspeslagh, Enchanté – a network of warm-hearted merchants
Lucie Evers, Partago – a coop for electric car sharing – Mobility Factory
3rd speaker to be announced
20:50 – 21:10 PANEL DISCUSSION “CHANGING THE CITY”, Marie Haspeslagh, Lucie Evers, tbc
21:10 – 21:30 CLOSING PANEL “URBAN COMMONS TRANSITION”, Michel Bauwens & Elena De Nictolis
Michel Bauwens
Founder and director of the P2P Foundation and expert in peer production, governance and property. Bauwens is a well-known public speaker and thought leader. In 2017 he wrote the Commons Transition Plan for Ghent, after a similar project for Ecuador.
Elena De Nictolis
Research associate at LabGov, the LABoratory for the GOVernance of the City as a Commons. She prepares a Phd thesis on public policies for urban co-governance and the relation with the quality of city democracy at LUISS University of Rome.
To attend this inspiring conference, follow this link and order your tickets on the bottom of the page.
To complete your registration, transfer the entrance fee of 5 € to BE29 0015 9877 0164 (BIC: GEBA BE BB) Oikos vzw with the reference ‘Commons Congress’.
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We are happy to announce the call for participants for the International Activity (Training for Trainiers) that will take place from 24-29 April near Istanbul, Turkey.
We are looking for young and motivated people who are eager to improve Eastern European cities through alternative ways of urbanisation, as well as in mastering their skills in advocacy and project management. Participants are expected to come from one of the following 16 countries of Eastern Europe: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Russian Federation.
Both urban activists with experience and people who are new to this topic but keen to develop an expertise in this field are welcome to apply. The team will select participants respecting the criteria of gender, geographical and regional balance and taking into consideration the diversity of participants’ backgrounds regarding the event’s topic. We encourage applications reflecting diversity in all forms, especially gender and sexual identity.
All sessions of the international activity will be conducted in English.
DEADLINE for submitting the application is Sunday 4th March, 2018.
You can apply using this application form.
Go to PROJECT PAGE to read more information about the full project.
*All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.
