The Fourth Global Foresight4Food Workshop is set to take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 3-7 June 2024. This event, themed “Reframing Food Futures: Making Foresight Transformative,” aims to continue the vital conversation on the future of food and its sustainability. Building on the success of the last workshop in Montpellier, it seeks to further explore synergies between Foresight4Food initiatives and the broader foresight community as well as members of APAARI.

Workshop Objectives:

• To strengthen the international community of foresight practitioners, users, and researchers.
• To identify opportunities for enhancing the use of foresight in food systems transformation initiatives.
• To deepen the understanding of effective foresight approaches, methods, and tools.
• To explore the application of foresight and scenario analysis in contributing to societal understanding, policy innovation, and systemic change.

Call for Participation:

Foresight4Food is currently inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organizations passionate about shaping the future of food. Whether you are a previous participant or new to the Foresight4Food community, you are welcome to contribute to this critical discussion.

How to Apply:

For more details and to express your interest in participating, please visit the Foresight4Food website. Complete the expression of interest form by 5:00 pm (GMT+7) on Tuesday, 30 April, 2024. You are encouraged to nominate colleagues from your organization or network who would benefit from and contribute to this workshop.

Selection Process:

Given the limited spots available and the high demand experienced in past workshops, selection will aim to balance representation across regions, countries, and stakeholder groups. This ensures a diverse and effective mix of participants capable of advancing our workshop objectives. Selected participants will receive formal invitations, registration forms, and a detailed program by 3 May, 2024.

Limited Availability:

Participation is capped at 100 attendees to foster deep discussions and engagement. Based on the overwhelming interest in previous workshops, it is advised to express your interest early.

Learn more

In October 2022, Foresight4Food hosted a CFS side event on “Foresight and Future Scenarios for Food Systems Transformation – Building Resilience and Fostering Adaptation to Protect Against Future Crises”. The event was held jointly with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CFS High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE – FSN).  
 
The event highlighted the importance of taking longer-term perspectives on food systems transformation through the use of foresight and scenario analysis. The work of the Foresight4Food Initiative was outlined and a new programme “Foresight for Food System Transformation – (FaST)” was launched.

 

The event was moderated by Jim Woodhill, Lead of the Foresight4Food Initiative. He introduced the building blocks of an approach to foresight for food system transformation which has been developed by Foresight4Food. Central to this approach is identifying key trends and critical uncertainties which may influence the future of the entire food system. He indicated how Foresight4Food has been developing and how its overall approach is being tested through work in Africa and Asia.

 

Ravi Khetarpal, Executive Secretary of Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), and Chair of the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR) underlined the continued importance of the agri-food sector for security and development across the Asia Pacific. He emphasised the critical need for multi-stakeholder platforms at national and local levels to help drive the needed innovation for transforming food systems.  He saw foresight and the Foresight4Food initiative as a valuable contribution to such processes and welcomed its work in the region. To achieve sustainable and resilient food systems he called for more evidence-based policy making, which relies on good data and the type of integrated qualitative and quantitative analysis which can be offered by foresight.

 

Read more here: https://foresight4food.net/foresight4food-cfs-50-side-event-building-resilience-and-fostering-adaptation-to-protect-against-future-crises/