“Wonderful opportunity to learn about changes that are happening in our food system”

Michelle, what is special about this summer school?

We have been running this for a few years in different countries and it is one of the few that we know of that takes a broad food systems approach.  We have a wide range of participants – from 15 countries and 18 different disciplines and we create a space where they live and work together for two weeks to explore the challenges of food systems in transition. The participants are mostly doing their master or doctoral studies and thus bring a rich tapestry of knowledge, expertise and interests to the table that enriches the program. They engage in a wide range of interactive discussions, case studies, simulation games, field trips and lectures that span the food system and explore challenges, solutions, feedbacks and interactions.

Why is this year’s course in Côte d’Ivoire and what unique opportunities does the location afford the students?

We are based in Yamoussoukro at the moment, in central Côte d’Ivoire. We travelled here yesterday from Abidjan, leaving behind the tropical forest where we saw cacao, banana and palm oil plantations and entering the savannah, where we see predominantly food security crops and livestock. This landscape transition also allows us to see a nutrition transition in practice, from urban areas where we see problems of under and over-nutrition co-existing, to rural areas where the challenges of hidden hunger and malnutrition are predominant.

This year’s student cohort is incredibly diverse. How did you select such a dynamic group?

We had over 170 applications for this course from all around the world, so it was an incredibly difficult decision regarding who we could offer the 26 places to! We have a well established selection process that considers merit, the strength of the applications and also diversity, so that we can build a really vibrant group that brings different experiences and perspectives to the table.

Côte d’Ivoire is the leading producer of cocoa in the world; does the course focus on this crop?

Around a third of the worlds cocoa comes form Côte d’Ivoire. We will spend the last few days of the course doing a “deep dive” into the cocoa value chain. We will visit small scale producers, producer cooperatives, local processing facilities and have a panel discussion with representatives from industry, research, education, government and NGO’s. This discussion will look at challenges and opportunities of the cooca value chain in the country, and how it interacts with the food system.

What are you most excited about looking to the 2 weeks ahead?

The chance to see first-hand the issues we talk about in food systems in a very different context to the one I live in, and to engage with a wide range of local stakeholders and hear their perspectives. On top of this, one of the most enriching aspects of the program is what the participants bring to the course, and I really love to observe how the group dynamic grows. Over the two weeks we all learn so much from each other and build up a really close network, which continues on long after the course.

World Food System Summer School in Côte d’Ivoire: Food Systems in Transition

27 January - 10 February 2018

Find further information on the course here

Also, follow the journey of these students on external page Facebook (@ethzWFSC) and external page #wfsceducation.