The 2023 Agroecology Europe Forum is a 3-day in-person event convening 200-300 people from all over Europe for dynamic and interactive dialogues around key European policy issues. Stakeholders and representatives of the agroecological community—farmers, growers, and ranchers, peasants, researchers, social movements, non-governmental organizations, and European policy makers—meet to discuss the most pressing challenges and present solutions for today’s agricultural and food systems.
By bringing together a variety of stakeholders from various movements and territories, we create synergies that set an exemplary model for facilitating the agroecological transition in Europe while acknowledging the global reach of the movement. Local solutions supported by targeted policies, tailored to diverse climatic, socio-economic, and cultural contexts can cultivate a climate-resilient, biodiverse Europe with environmental and social justice at its heart.
“Converging movements for resilient food systems” means promoting dialogue between degrowth, agroecology, and climate and social justice movements, focusing on how each endeavour can strengthen and complement each other in completing different pieces of the puzzle of a regenerative future.
Co-organized by the Hungarian Agroecological Network Association in Gyöngyös, Hungary, this year’s Agroecology Europe Forum shines a light to the agroecological richness of the Central Eastern European region and creates stronger alliances between the different actors involved in the science, practice, and movement arms of agroecology in a more rural context. Read more about the venue here.
The Hungarian Agroecology Network is a multistakeholder, transdisciplinary, and intergenerational network that aims to connect and strengthen those working with agroecology and serve as a meeting point, a knowledge-producing and -sharing community, and an advocacy organization. The long-term goal of the Network is to promote a national and international agroecological transformation of practices and policies and the implementation of food sovereignty through joint work and movement building, and to work together to create a socially, economically, and naturally sustainable agricultural production, processing, and distribution system in Hungary and beyond.
With a rich and inspiring agenda, the 2023 Forum will focus on:
- Soil health and One Health
- Strategic alliances, commonalities, and true inclusivity in agroecology
- Challenges and opportunities for policy and local governance
- Pathways for the transition to agroecological food systems combining technology and traditional knowledge
key takeaways
Participants envisioned an environmentally sustainable, socially just, and economically viable food system, rooted in systemic change and ecological thinking, that can withstand challenges such as climate change, economic instability, and resource depletion. Apart from the shared vision and the commitment to future actions for the most pressing challenges of today’s agri-food system, they concluded the need for collaborative and innovative ways of thinking and doing.
The synthesis report of the 2023 Agroecology Europe Forum is an outcome of the shared learning and inspiration to build a resilient food system. This report is a critical outlook and synthesis of presentations and discussion notes taken by the volunteers. It explores the current state and envisioned future of a resilient food system and offers actionable insights for food system stakeholders.
Join the 2023 Agroecology Europe Forum!
Sign up to secure your place among Europe’s leading regenerative scientists, researchers, experts, policymakers, innovators, and pioneers! Agroecology Europe is committed to diversity in all its forms, including in gender, race, sexual orientation, class, age, physical ability, culture, and ethno-religious affiliation. We welcome attendees from all social and professional backgrounds and at all stages of the agroecological learning journey.
All ticket types grant you full access to all the plenary talks and parallel workshops and sessions taking place at the venue. Food is at the heart of the conference — it is our pleasure to invite you to agroecological meals sourced from local agroecological growers and prepared with care at the location. Let us connect over food as we continue to exchange ideas, learn, and inspire each other. The registration fees include lunch on days 1 and 2, a dinner on day 1 and an apéro on day 2. Travel and accommodation are to be organised and covered individually.
Walk the talk? Getting closer to nature and understanding farmers’ priorities will come in focus on day 3 as we visit local agroecological initatives during the first half of the day. Add this optional program at the checkout for a full field experience and see agroecology work in real life in Hungary! Transportation and lunch are included.
ABOUT AGROECOLOGY EUROPE FORUMs
Every two years, Agroecology Europe organises the Forum together with local farmers, universities, social movements, regional administrations, and non-governmental organisations to foster exchange, reflection, and bottom-up discourse.
Following the three editions of the Forum in 2017 in Lyon, France, in 2019 in Heraklion, Greece, and in 2021 in Barcelona, Spain, and the first edition of the Agroecology Europe Youth Forum in September 2022 in Rambouillet, France, the Agroecology Europe Forum in 2023 takes place in Gyöngyös, Hungary.