AESOP4Food seminar 2025

Introduction

This sustainable food planning seminar makes use of the learning resources which are available on the AESOP4Food wiki.

Participants are expected to prepare themselves for each session by viewing a recording and reading the compulsory material.

The seminar takes place from March 6 until April 10, 2025. Every week on Thursday 17h00 – 18h15 CET.

Each session consists of a 30-minute recap of the subject, followed by 30 minutes of discussion (if the group is large this will be in self-organised breakout rooms) and 15 minutes outlook on the next session.

Study Guide

Before you register please read the Study Guide. You can download the study guide here.

Rationale

Productive landscape concerns the current problems of foodscapes, food systems, short chains, and food security. This seminar concerns the planning, design and management of sustainable foodscapes, integrating both environmental, social, and economic aspects of the productive landscape. It addresses the main challenges, theoretical frameworks, approaches and methods for sustainable food planning. It relates to the concepts of food security, food safety, food democracy and food justice and the way stakeholders and communities can address the challenges by participatory action research and living labs. It builds upon the work of the International Panel of Experts in Food Planning (IPES) and the Resource centre on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF). Subjects of the sessions are defining the main challenges, mapping and analysing a food system, collaborative goal setting, proposing transformative actions, developing scenarios, alternatives, and implementation strategies.

Aim of the seminar

After participating in the seminar, learners should be able to elaborate proposals in a collaborative way for the future physical interventions of a part of a local-regional food system in relation to its context. The goal is to develop adequate knowledge, understanding of food systems, to define driving forces, understand the planning process, decide on transformative actions, planning and design proposals. For this learners can apply the main concepts of sustainable food planning and the building blocks of an Agroecological Urbanism.

Competences developed

The learner knows and understands the essence and significance of existing food systems in a local and city-regional scale and is able to apply knowledge and new ideas in a changing social – economic environment to initiate transformative actions for making food systems more sustainable.

Activities by the participants

Participating in the seminar will take some 8 hours per week. The tasks consist of:

• Viewing the recording of the selected lecture for each session
• Critical reading of the preparatory material for each phase of the seminar
• Participating in the recap lecture, the Q&A session and the discussion, that takes place on Thursdays from 17h00-18h30 CET.

Participants who want to receive a certificate for the seminar need to actively follow at least 5 of the sessions and give an online presentation of 15 minutes of their main understandings and findings. The framework of the presentation will be handed out during the first session.

Registration

Registration is closed now. If you register after March 1, 2025 you will be placed on a waiting list and will receive a notification whether you still are admitted on Wednesday March 5, 2025. Please consulte the study guide. you can register here.

Session 1- March 6, 2025

Introduction on the content and organisation of the course, including a short intro on M&E – LE:NOTRE Institute

Preparation viewing before March 6

View the recording and the presentation slides nr 23 until 73 of Feb 29, 2024: https://wiki.landscape-portal.org/index.php/AESOP4Food_seminar_2024#Session_February_29,_2024

Preparation reading before March 6

• Tornaghi, Chiara. (2016). Urban Agriculture in the Food‐Disabling City: (Re)defining Urban Food Justice, Reimagining a Politics of Empowerment. Antipode. 49. 10.1111/anti.12291. This article helps participants understand urban food justice issues and introduces the concept of the politics of empowerment. Underlines the importance for reflecting on personal values and competencies and addressing inequalities within food systems.
• Deh-Tor, C.M. 2021. Food as an urban question, and the foundations of a reproductive, agroecological, urbanism, Chapter 1 in: Tornaghi, Ch. and Dehaene, M. 2021. Resourcing an Agroecological Urbanism: Political, Transformational and Territorial Dimensions. This chapter explores the foundations of a reproductive, agroecological urbanism, providing theoretical insights into sustainable food planning. It helps participants understand the role of agroecology in urban planning.

Recap, Q&A and discussion

Roxana Triboi and Jeroen de Vries will give a short introduction to the structure of the course and a recap of the main challenges of the current food system (30 minutes). This will be followed by Q&A on the preparatory material and a discussion.