Feeding Regions: Turning Plans into Action
A delegation of the Emilia-Romagna Region met on 23 and 24 October 2019 in Manchester the partners of the FoodChains 4 Europe project and the local stakeholders of the other 4 regions: Flevoland (NL), Plovdiv / Sofia (BG), (IT), Maramures (RO) and Greater Manchester (United Kingdom), to celebrate the end of the first phase of the project.
On Wednesday 23 October, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Oldham Council hosted the conference Feeding Regions: Turning Plans into Action at the People's History Museum, to evaluate how to obtain better and more sustainable regional food systems. The emphasis of the day was based on sharing experiences and considering how action plans can be translated into concrete actions in the territories.
The day began with a welcome and introduction by Adrian Morley,Research Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Jan-Nico Appelman, Vice King's Commissioner for the Province of Flevolan
d, followed by a presentation by Yota Nicolarea, Food Policy Officer for the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Secretariat. Kevin Morgan gave a presentation on urban food planning and policy, giving specific examples drawing on the experiences of Bristol, Toronto, Seattle, New York and Stockholm.
Interactive workshops offered delegates the opportunity to engage in discussions on topics including enhancing food growth initiatives; business support and building regional partnerships. The sessions were facilitated by professionals and experts. The final workshop of the day was conducted by Charlotte Hill of the United Kingdom Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which received feedback from the public to later enrich and guide consultation on the next national food strategy in the UK.
The last presentation of the day was given by Carolyn Steel, author of "Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives" and "Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World" and also one of the leading experts on food in the city.
The event was attended by 79 people, including delegates from the Greater Manchester area and other regions of the United Kingdom, as well as international partners and stakeholders from Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and the Netherlands.
6th Monitoring Board Meeting of the FoodChains 4 Europe project
The following day, Thursday 24 October, the partners of the FoodChains 4 Europe project met, again in Manchester at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, for the sixth meeting of the Monitoring Committee, which marked the end of phase one of the project and has highlighted the work done by the partners over the past 3 years.
The partners presented the progress of the respective regional action plans, which should be ready by the end of the first phase, ie by 31 December 2019 and implemented during phase 2 of the project, in the period 2020-2021. The technical and financial aspects were then discussed close to the end of the first phase and the planning of the project activities for phase 2 which will focus on the monitoring and implementation of the action plans in the participating regions.