Marseille, June 19-21 – The “Agri-food Justice and Policy Innovation: Levers for Transforming City Region Food Systems” conference took place over three dynamic days in Marseille, gathering experts and stakeholders to discuss and innovate around sustainable food systems within urban and regional contexts.
Day 1 – June 19: The event commenced with a warm reception at 9:00 AM, where participants collected badges and enjoyed coffee. The opening session featured a general project presentation of Cities2030 by Ca’Foscari University from 9:30 to 9:50 AM. This was followed by an in-depth session from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM on policy innovation for productive City Region Food Systems (CRFS), highlighting the example of the Piemonts de l’Étoile agri-parc. The afternoon was dedicated to the General Assembly for Cities2030 partners, providing a platform for deeper engagement and collaboration.
Day 2 – June 20: The second day began at 10:00 AM with a unique and interactive “Serious Game: Living Lab Labyrinth,” which explored the challenges and opportunities in CRFS. This was followed by a session from 10:40 to 11:20 AM on the lock-ins and barriers experienced in living-labs, shared through practical examples.
The morning continued with a series of informative sessions:
11:20 to 11:40 AM: “From Idea to Action: The Journey of Ethics, Gender, and RRI in CRFS.”
11:40 AM to 12:20 PM: Demonstration of a blockchain marketplace and digital twin, featuring use case examples.
12:20 to 1:00 PM: Techniques to measure engagement and representativeness of stakeholders in Living Labs.
1:00 to 1:20 PM: Data mining for living labs and community platforms, examining European perspectives on regional issues.
1:20 to 1:40 PM: Findings from the Cities2030 Observatory’s pan-European study.
The day was designed as an open networking space for partners and stakeholders, encouraging impromptu discussions on CRFS topics using World Café and Open Space Technology approaches.
Day 3 – June 21: The final day included field visits for Cities2030 partners, running from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Concurrently, Space 2 hosted a series of insightful sessions:
10:00 to 10:40 AM: “Mapping Wastelands in the City” using a Living Lab approach for stakeholder engagement and soil care.
10:40 to 11:20 AM: “Multi-stakeholder Collaboration in Action-Research and Agri-food Project Evaluation.”
11:20 AM to 12:00 PM: Initiatives on urban agriculture, focusing on social justice and economic viability.
12:00 to 12:20 PM: Presentation of the Pollica 2050 model for rural area regeneration.
12:20 to 1:00 PM: Lessons from engaging stakeholders on technological innovation at Agrotopia Living Lab.
1:00 to 1:20 PM: Introduction of Setsdal.shop, a digital hub for empowering local producers.
1:20 to 1:40 PM: Discuss urban aquaponics and its sustainability, highlighted by the Interreg project Beyond Bluegrass.
The conference successfully provided a rich platform for discussing and advancing the transformation of City Region Food Systems through innovative policies and collaborative efforts, emphasizing sustainability and justice in agri-food systems.
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