Zero Waste Europe - Idman
In October I was invited to the Zero Waste Europe convening and we were invited to share the movement building work we have been doing with the Eating Better and Sustain Alliance on furthering equity and anti-racism in the sector. We shared the insights and learnings from the Gathering Table Summit. It was enlightening connecting with individuals from all over the world working on movement building and the intersection of social justice and environmental care.
The event celebrated the launch of the Blueprint for Movement Building toolkit, and here are some key takeaways from our day together and from the Blueprint resource:
- It is vital to break out of our silos and learn from what other movements are doing regarding coalition building and systemic change, to strengthen our collective impact.
- Understanding how different forms of power operate within the movement ecosystem helps us navigate challenges and leverage influence effectively.
- Human connections should be at the heart of systems change! cultivating spaces centered on genuine relationships rooted in care, trust, mutual understanding, and accountability is essential for sustainable change.
We left feeling inspired and connected- we are looking forward to launching our own brief toolkit later in the year to help support our members in thinking radically about how to hold space for movement building. Keep an eye out.
EIT Food’s System Shifters - Andrew
In September I took part in the latest training from EIT Food’s System Shifters programme. This exciting programme looks at training people working in the food system - farmers, retailers, NGOs - and exploring different tipping points in the move to shift our diets so they are healthier and more sustainable. It’s wonderful to connect with people outside my usual day to day, especially from a global and European perspective.
This session I was at Die Nieuwe Melkboer in Enschede, the Netherlands. This is a farm that used to be a dairy farm, but when brothers Bart and Tom took over the management of the farm from their parents, they decided to convert from dairy cows and milk production to growing soybeans and making soy yoghurt. You can read more about their story here. It was fascinating to see farming in another context and to get up close with a very unique transition in farming.
Alongside this, there was a presentation from Peter Lefort and the Positive Tipping Points toolkit alongside the European retailer Ahold Delhaize presenting their journey on healthy and sustainable food. The highlight was a series of roundtable discussions with local farmers, getting into the depths of local farming operations in Enschede and the barriers to transitioning towards more sustainable forms of farming.
I’m excited to see what’s next as part of the System Shifters programme, and to keep connecting with European colleagues.