3rd European Thematic Network Meeting

12-13 January 2023, Budapest, Hungary (Face-to-face)

Purpose of the meeting

FARMWELL has carried out a series of inspiring, practical and hands-on activities in the past year, including pilot actions that engaged farmers and other stakeholders to bring social innovation practices closer to farmers (such as mental health support, open farm cooperation, care and social farms, cooperation of women farmers, farm energy communities to farmers, better work conditions for migrant farm workers, etc.) and the production of a documentary film series in each partner country on inspiring social innovations. The assessment of social impact has also started through the Social Return on Investment methodology.
The aim of the 3rd European Thematic Network meeting is to share and discuss this experience and products with other interested stakeholders, who can use these in their own work. The meeting aims to explore with interested stakeholders how these products can improve support and services to farmers with the ultimate goal to improve farmers’ wellbeing, and how the European Thematic Network members/ participants can use these tools in their own work.

Target groups of the meeting

  • Farmers
  • Organisations supporting farmers: farmers’ associations, farm advisory services, other service providers (including European stakeholder organisations)
  • Researchers
  • Policymakers and other interested stakeholders

Agenda of the meeting

12 Jan 2023 8.00- 18.30 (CET)

Field visit to local farms
8:00 am
Departure from the Aquincum Hotel: Organised transfer with buses will leave from Aquincum Hotel at 8:00 am. We would like to ask all participants to be in front of the hotel around 7:45 am at the latest, so that we can leave on time.
8.00 – 14.00
Field visits (based on the preliminary choices of participants – see lists):
  • Social farming: Visit to a social farm, which carries out a wide range of actvities including farming, arts, gastronomy, trainings etc.
  • Farming communities: visiting small farms operating in the form of community supported agriculture, the NGO that helps them with multiple advisory activities, as well as meeting a LEADER LAG that is active in organizing small farmers in a short supply chain
14:00 – 15:00 Lunch
Welcome & introduction to the meeting
15.00 –15.30
  • Welcome and introduction to the event, Edina Ocsko (Project
    Coordinator) and Pál Goda (Managing Director of AKI)
  • Who is in the room? – Ice breaker
15.30-16.30
  • Where we are in FARMWELL – Recent developments, activities and
    outcomes, Edina Ocsko (Project Coordinator)
  • Introduction to the FARMWELL Toolbox: What you can find there &
    how tools can be used? Facilitated discussion by Patrick Pasgang (Boerenbond)
  • Workshop teasers –WS facilitators briefly presenting the contents of the 2nd day Workshops (Opportunity to participants for finalizing their choices)
16.30 – 17.00 Coffee break & networking

FARMWELL Social Innovations: Introduction and ‘sneak preview’ of the FARMWELL documentary films
17.00 – 18.30 The Farmwell Series Sneak Previews Live Show, facilitated by Lucas de Man (New Heroes)
Short introduction to the filmmaking process and story telling journey followed by the sneak preview of 6 episodes and an interactive session about the creative use of the episodes and series.
20.30 Dinner

13 January 2023, 8.45 – 16.30h (CET)

Introduction
9.00 – 9.15 Introduction to the day, Edina Ocsko (Project Coordinator)
Social innovations in practice – Experience from FARMWELL pilot
Session 1: 9.00 – 10.30
  1. ‘Farmers at a Crossroad’: Mental Health of farmersled by Belgian partners
  2. From “Crisis to OSMOSis”: A COSMOS of social innovations for living better together (Energy communities, open farms, women’s networks)led by Greek partners
10.30-11.00 Coffee break & networking
Session 2: 11.00 –12.30
  1. Irregular work in the agricultural sector: How irregular could become regular? Possible shared benefitsled by Italian partners
  2. Care farming system’s benefits and challenges: Supporting the intellectually disabled “Independently (not alone)” (Care farming)led by Polish partners
12.30 – 13.30 Lunch
Session 3: 13.30 – 15.00
  1. The power of community: How to encourage networking and cooperation between farmers and with local communities? – Farmers’ cooperation and networkingled by Hungarian partners
  2. Speeding-up Social Innovation in Eastern Europe – Addressing the persistent challenges of fostering social innovation in the communities of small farmers in eastern Europe – led by Romanian partners
15.00-15.15 Coffee break & networking
What’s next in FARMWELL?
15.15 – 15.45 Feedback from the Workshops
15.45 – 16.30 Presentations and discussion on upcoming practical outputs of FARMWELL & how to support social innovations in the future:
  • The relevance of social innovation and FARMWELL outcomes in the work of the CAP Network & EIP-AGRI, Szabolcs Bíró (EIP-AGRI)
  • Introduction to FARMWELL policy tools: Policy relevance of FARMWELL at regional, national and European levels, Mark Redman (HCC)
  • Closing words on upcoming FARMWELL activities and open discussion,
Discussion facilitated by E40