Presentations and engagement
I regularly participate in academic and non academic fora. Here I discuss recent events where I have had the pleasure to participate but see here a full list of conference presentation and workshop items, and also you can find some videos in this page.
Recent participation in events
Panel on Urban Food Security at the International Conference on Global Food Security - Cape Town, December 2017
I was invited to participate in a panel on Urban food systems and urban food security as levers for sustainable development and human well-being at the International Conference on Global Food Security, taking place in Cape Town. The panel was convened by Jane Battersby who leads an innovative project on Consuming Urban Poverty. We provided a critical lens to understand current levels of food insecurity across the world and how cities are providing innovative solutions. Building on the UK experience, I presented how sustainable food city networks are starting to influence national and global food policy debates. Key questions arise, can cities actually contribute to unblock entrenched power imbalances in the food system? How do we build meaningful alliances? See below the links to the presentations :
Jane Battersby (African Centre for Cities) – Urban food systems and urban food security as levers for sustainable development and human well-being?
David Sanders (School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape) – Health, nutrition and food security with a focus on South Africa : what implications for food systems? Sanders
Rene van Veenhuizen (RUAF) – Global FS_Urban Food Cape Town RUAF
Andrea Calori (ESTA, Milan) – Building policies in a CRFS perspective: The experience of Milan
Alison Play-Palmer (FLEdGE, Wilfred Laurier University, Canada) – FLEdGE and FAO’s perspectives blay_palmer
Ana Moragues Faus (Cardiff University) – Re-assembling sustainable food cities Translocal governance
Mayors' Summit of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact - Valencia October 2017
As part of the annual Mayors’ Summit of the Milan Food Policy Pact, I brought together 48 delegates representing networks where more than 500 cities are actively working to reform their food system. Cities are the beacons of food policy innovation and they are establishing alliances to transform our food system. The main goal of the meeting was to exchange current practices and establish links between these growing city and city-region food networks. We considered two key questions: how can we ensure the long-term growth, impact and sustainability of city and city-region food initiatives, and what would be of most value to our networks in the context of growing international activity? This was the first time that national, regional and global networks gathered to discuss how they can coordinate and effectively support a transition towards more sustainable and just urban food futures worldwide. Watch this space for a report on this meeting and future steps planned.
Visit to Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future and Institute for Urban Food Policy in City University New York - November 2017
This fall I had the opportunity to visit to key international institutions contributing to the development of inclusive and sustainable food systems in the US. The Center for a Livable Future hosts the Food Policy Networks project offering support to more than 200 food policy councils across the US. They are also supporting the work of Baltimore city council to address food insecurity, for instance mapping food deserts in the city and contributing to deliver community empowering programs such as the establishment of Resident Food Equity Advisors. In both Baltimore and New York I was able to interview stakeholders and visit projects to understand better the interaction between food and the city metabolism. The staff from the Institute on Urban Food Policy in CUNY explained to me key insights from their recent analysis of 10 years of New York's food policy. I was able to present my work in both places and scope future collaborations around food and cities, measuring impact and understanding the power of partnerships. Exciting moments ahead!
United Nations Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador - October 2016
I had the unique opportunity to participate at the United Nations Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador. This meeting approved the New Urban Agenda, which for the first time recognizes the important role that cities play in delivering good food for all. I was invited to present my work with UK cities, including the definition of sustainable food cities and how we measure progress. This forum presented an exciting opportunity to meet the range of agencies and countries working at the interface between sustainability, justice and urban development. For more information on the outcomes of this conference visit:
