Various groups have come together at University College Dublin (UCD) today (Thursday, September 28) to discuss sustainable food systems in Ireland.
The conference has been running since 9:00a.m this morning and will continue until 5:00p.m in O’Reilly Hall.
It is hosted by EIT Climate KIC, as part of its Community Week in Ireland.
EIT Climate-KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community, supporting cities, regions, countries and industries to bridge the gap between climate commitments and current reality.
It has partnered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for today’s conference.
Five panel discussions are taking place throughout the day, under the following titles:
- Why do we need systems innovation for land, agri-food transformation in Europe?
- What does systems innovation in the land, agri-food system look like for Ireland?
- How is systems innovation for sustainable food systems being delivered elsewhere?
- Leadership and initiatives from Ireland’s land, agri-food system;
- How do we create an enabling environment for systems innovation in Ireland?
Networking areas with “local initiatives and innovations”, such as FARMEYE and Earthworm Foundation are also present.
Chief strategy officer at EIT Climate-KIC, Andy Kerr said the conference is about bringing people together.
“We are encouraging as many different groups, different organisations to come together to try and help solve some of these huge challenges that we have,” Kerr said.
“This is not something that any one organisation has all the answers to, so we need to bring you in to help solve these challenges.”
Kerr added that a “collaborative” effort is needed to “capture” challenges and bring forward solutions for sustainable food systems.
CEO at EIT Climate-KIC, Kirsten Dunlop said that the conference is about bringing together different actors, different levels of governance, the relationship between policy and practice, and the fundamental transitions that are needed.