Beacons of Hope

The new report from the Global Alliance for the Future of Food entitled “Beacons of Hope: Accelerating Transformations to Sustainable Food Systems” was launched on 13 August and showcases 21 initiatives from across the world, all displaying a highly integrated approach and encouraging sustainability at the social, ecological and economic level. Each initiative contributes inspiring solutions to urgent global issues such as the climate emergency, migration, urbanization, and the need for healthier and more sustainable diets. The report is delivered in partnership with Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development.

The report also provides policymakers, investors, funders, businesses, and researchers with a comprehensive Food Systems Transformation Toolkit built on the Global Alliance’s principles of renewability, health, equity, resilience, diversity, and interconnectedness as a guide for collective action. It sets out practical recommendations – gleaned from the experiences of the Beacons of Hope profiled – on how to accelerate meaningful food systems transformations at this critical time.

The key messages of the report include:

• Transformative change is required, it is happening, and it can and must be accelerated. 
• Beacons of Hope are inspiring evidence that change is possible, while also demonstrating the diversity of pathways available to us today; nature-based and people-based solutions are breaking through.
  
• Climate change, health, environmental pressures, sustainable livelihoods, migration, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are all drivers of transformation.
• The future of food is at stake and the status quo is jeopardizing efforts to promote food access, security, equity, human health and development.
  

The World Food System Center (WFSC) was selected as one of the Beacons of Hope in the new report. The WFSC profile highlights the Center’s summer school program, which empowers young students and professionals to create positive change toward sustainable food systems.

Our next World Food System Summer School starts this weekend, 17 August, in Rheinau, Switzerland. The model of this “Food Systems in Transition” course is grounded in a theory of change and aims to build the knowledge, skills, and motivation of participants to play a role in contributing to food system change. During the course, an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach is pursued, promoting cross-cultural exchange, raising awareness of context specificity of food system challenges and solutions, and applying systems thinking approaches to explore the food system as a complex system. Various didactic methods will be used in this process, including lectures, workshops, panels, facilitated discussions, field trips, case studies, role plays, creative work, group work, and community work. At the end of the course, the participating 24 graduate students and young professionals from 18 different countries will join the international and collaborative WFSC alumni network that inspires and leads change towards sustainable food systems.

We are delighted to be showcased as a Beacon of Hope in transforming food systems, and we wish the 24 participants in our summer school all the best during their two week course!

Learn more about our summer schools here

Download the external pageBeacons of Hope Report herecall_made
external pageBeacons of Hope: Transforming Food Systems Websitecall_made