“With an eye towards how people access healthy and diverse food”
Jonna Cohen is the Education Manager at the World Food System Center. In this interview, she explains how the current course in Côte d’Ivoire is developing and how students are assisted in individually and collectively exploring food system challenges.
The question of how to feed the world, while considering human health, the environment, and social wellbeing, is one of the defining challenges of our time. In order to understand the world food system and find ways to deal with its complexity, 26 graduate students and young professionals from around the world are in Côte d’Ivoire to take part in a two-week (27 January - 10 February 2018) intensive Summer School course organized by the World Food System Center at the ETH Zurich, in collaboration with the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS).
Jonna, you are in the second week of the course in Côte d’Ivoire now; what insights have you already seen coming from the students?
It’s always exciting to see what a broad range of knowledge and experience the students bring. They come together for this two-week intensive experience, and it’s amazing to see the friendships and networks form. In addition, the co-creation of knowledge fostered through a variety of hands-on learning approaches, and to see the building momentum and enthusiasm as the course goes on is very intriguing
Jonna Cohen at work at the WFS Summer School in Côte d’Ivoire
Jonna Cohen at work at the WFS Summer School in Côte d’Ivoire (Image: WFSC) Jonna Cohen at work at the WFS Summer School in Côte d’Ivoire (Image: WFSC)
You spoke to the students recently about Culture and Food Systems; how is this topic important in the local context of Côte d’Ivoire?
We held two complementary sessions, the first on culture and the food system, and the second session on indigenous knowledge and yam production in West Africa. The first session provided the opportunity for participants to explore the intersection of food and culture, and share culturally relevant solutions to food system challenges in their home countries. In the following session, participants from Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Ghana shared country-specific yam practices. We learned that, with over 60 ethnic groups, Côte d’Ivoire is an incredibly diverse country. Understanding the diversity of our cultural backgrounds helps to individually and collectively explore food system challenges and solutions in greater depth.
How are you teaching the links between nutrition, health, and food systems to the students?
We try to interweave these topics throughout the course, and make linkages to health and nutrition all along the food value chain in interactive ways. For instance, the participants have had a number of opportunities to explore the surrounding area and markets in Yamoussoukro with an eye toward how people access healthy and diverse food, the barriers to this and the various stakeholders involved. In addition, we had a visit from the country director of the World Food Program who explained the food aid they are providing in the west and north of Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the links between food insecurity, conflict and migration
What are you most excited about in the week ahead?
While the focus on yams has been interesting, I am particularly excited to compare and contrast this staple food with cocoa as a cash crop. The last two days of the program will provide us with a deep dive into the cocoa value chain, both through site visits and a panel from a variety of sectors that will speak to challenges and opportunities in the cocoa industry.
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.
About Jonna Cohen
Jonna joined the World Food System Center in November 2016. She holds a doctorate in Latin American Studies from the Department of Organization and Culture at the University of St. Gallen HSG. Prior to joining the WFSC, Jonna worked in academic planning, as well as diversity and program development, at the University of St. Gallen.
Course Information
World Food System Summer School in Côte d’Ivoire: Food Systems in Transition
27 January - 10 February 2018
The course is organized by the World Food System Center in partnership with the Swiss National Science Foundation Research for Development Project “Biophysical and socio-economic drivers of sustainable soil use in yam cropping systems for improved food security in West Africa” (external page Yamsys).
Funding
This World Food System summer school is being hosted in collaboration with the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS), a lead member institution in the Yamsys project. This course is subsidized through the kind support of the SNF R4D program and the Mercator Foundation Switzerland.