Where Can You Find Us at the Organic World Congress 2021
On 6-10 September, organic stakeholders, farmers, researchers and policymakers will address questions around resilience, societal transformation, health, and food sovereignty during the world’s largest organic gathering.
Find us at the Organic World Congress 2021!
The Leadership Forum
Thinkers, practitioners, and policymakers discuss new ideas and concepts that will help propel agriculture and organic to the next level of sustainability during the Leadership Forum sessions. Stakeholders from various professions and political backgrounds will openly debate the sector’s latest insights, controversies, and developments. Audience members will be invited to participate in the dialogue, allowing them to articulate new sector arguments and rationales.
Moderator: Hans Herren
Speakers:
Raymond Auerbach, Professor of Soil Science and Plant Production, Nelson Mandela University - South African Organic Sector Organisation (SAOSO)
Paul Holmbeck, Director of Holmbeck EcoConsult
Silvia Schmidt, Policy Associate Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe
Alexandra Wandel, Chair, Management Board, World Future Council
Thilak Kariyawasam, President, Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement)
Alex Lwakuba, Commissioner for the crop Production Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda)
From the organic pioneers to Organic 3.0. This session will be a space for two generations to meet. The organic pioneers and the new organic leaders from different corners of the world will share and exchange on their visions of the organic sector and the challenges they face.
Moderator: Julia Lernoud
Speakers:
Claude Aubert, Organic Pioneer
Denis Bourgeois, Member of IFOAM Founding Team
Russel Carrington, Knepp Regenerative Farms Manager
Jennifer Chang, Executive Director of IFOAM Asia
Karina Gonçalves David, Agroforestry Farmer and Entrepreneur, ProNobis Agrofloresta
Anuradha Ranasinghe, Founder of ABBA Agri Consultancy
Feng Li, China Country Director, IFOAM Asia
This session will focus on how to raise the bar for organics in terms of more impact on sustainability, where sustainability can be approached from one or more of its three pillars – environmental, social, economic.
Moderator: Silvia Schmidt
Speakers:
Sarah Compson, Leading Organic Alliance and Soil Association
Eduardo Cuoco, Director of IFOAM Organics Europe
David Gould, Chief Ecosystem Officer, SuperOrganic
Ada Qin, Founder of AboveFarm
Natacha Sautereau, Head of the Sustainability and Transitions Department, ITAB (French organic food and farming institute)
Moderator: Gerold Rahmann
Speakers:
Tobias Bandel, Managing Director of Soil & More Impacts GmbH
William Chilufya, Country Engagement Manager – Voices for Just Climate Action, Hivos Southern Africa
Christian Herzig, Professor of Management and Vice Dean, International Food Industry; Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, Witzenhausen, Germany
Silvia Schmidt, Policy Associate Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe
Alexander Müller, Founding and Managing Director, TMG
The issues our food systems currently face require a meaningful, urgent transformation with the adoption of agroecological practices and organic agriculture. Climate change, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms are no longer isolated cases, they are all connected. We would need millions of producers in the world to improve the way produce food, but is that even possible?
Our Leadership Forum Session “Why aren’t more farmers converting to organic? How to (p)reach (to) the not-yet-convinced?“ will deepen on the necessary measures governments, organisations, enterprises and farmers must consider to ease a transition to sustainable practices that can nourish our world.
How to guide scientific research and technical assistance to support farmers? What role should markets play? We will talk about this with representatives of producer organizations, civil society, local authorities and researchers. Join us on September 9 at 9:00 to find it out.
Moderator: Shamika Mone
Speakers:
Jacques Caplat, Independent Consultant, Lecturer and Author, Bio Cohérence
Victoriano Ihong Tagupa, Ambassador, Asian Local Governments for Organic Agriculture (ALGOA)
Hannes Van Den Eeckhout, Social Entrepreneur in Regenerative Food, The Regeneration Fellowship
Jianshe Zhao, Director, Associate Research Fellow, Henan Zhongyuan Organic Agriculture Institute
Markus Arbenz, New Business Manager at Easy-Cert Group AG, Organics4Development Consultancy
Beate Huber, Head Department International Cooperation at FiBL Switzerland and President FiBL Europe
Karen Mapusua, Vice President of IFOAM - Organics International
Charlotte Pavageau, Programme Manager, Policy and Advocacy, Biovision Foundation
Steffen Reese, Executive Director at Naturland – Association for Organic Farming
Moderator: Louise Luttikholt
Speakers:
Jennifer Chang, Vice President - IFOAM Organics International, Executive Director, Asian Local Governments for Organic Agriculture (ALGOA)
Laëtitia Van de Walle, CEO at Lamazuna, Cofounder at Bio Perennis
Ovais Zuberi, Founder, Shazday
Yannik Nadesian, Agriculture department of Rennes Metropole
Moderator: Peggy Miars
Speakers:
Alexis Carey, Associate Director, International Trade, Organic Trade Association
Pavle Dordevic, Director of Organela Doo
Claire Nasike, Food Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa
Anastasiia Pivniuk, Senior National Advisor Organic Component, Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value-Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine”
Natalia Salazar, Organic Farmer, Ecuador
Moderator: Fortunate Hofisi Nyakanda
Speakers:
Markus Arbenz, Easy-Cert group AG (bio.inpecta/ Bio Austria Garantie/ CERES), Switzerland; Organics4 Development consultancy
Brendan Hoare, Managing Director of Buy Pure, New Zealand
Andre Leu, International Director of Regeneration International
Stella Lutalo, Country Coordinator, PELUM, Uganda
Arvind Narula, Chairman, Urmatt Group
The Pre-Conferences
For two days, before the official opening of the Organic World Congress, professionals and researchers from around the world are invited to share their latest research, work and reflections among peers during pre-conferences. IFOAM - Organics International is organising two virtual pre-conferences!
Objectives:
- Gather PGS practitioners and advocates from around the world to take stock of current PGS developments
- Set new PGS strategies and targets
- Define common goals for improving PGS worldwide
- Offer a global platform for networking and exchange on PGS
Dates:
6 September 2021 – 09:00 – 16:00 (CEST)
7 September 2021 – 13:00 – 17:15 (CEST)
Get all information here!
Objectives:
- Advance the development of policies driving sustainability in agriculture and food systems
- Facilitate peer-to-peer exchange and strengthen the links among local, national and regional-level policymakers and experts on best practices and experiences
- Offer hands-on experiences of progressive policy-making for the members of the Food Policy Forum for Change
- Utilize participants’ experience to provide strong examples and connect to networks in all continents
Programme: Discover the detailed programme here.
Date: 7 September 2021 – 14:00 – 17:30 CEST
Get all information here!
The Workshops
Workshops promote interaction within the movement’s rich variety of stakeholders and contribute to their mutual understanding of each other by providing a space to exchange their visions on organic food and non-food systems. Workshops are also an opportunity to discuss controversial issues and share divergent views.
To this end, workshops favour a participatory approach. These exchanges should be inclusive and appeal to all types of organic actors.
Discover the detailed programme of all workshops here!
The #IGrowYourFood Action Day
#IGrowYourFood is about hearing stories from organic and agroecological farmers, sharing their work, learning the challenges they face and understanding how we can support them. Join us on September 9 2021 to celebrate the farmers who grow your food!
