12th Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum (Dublin, Trinity College, 26–28 October 2023)
This final report documents the 12th Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum (LLD) held in Dublin from 26–28 October 2023, organised by the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity (EC-LLD) in collaboration with the Irish Seed Savers Association. The report summarises plenaries, 15 workshops, field visits and an extraordinary assembly that convened over 100 participants from 29 countries. Key topics covered include EU-level policy debates (EU seed marketing reform; deregulation of new GMOs), Farmers’ Rights under the Plant Treaty, seed law capacity-building, patents on seeds, open-source seed initiatives, community seed systems, culinary breeding, seed harvesting and storage, and approaches to agrobiodiversity in urban food policy. The report also captures outcomes from practical sessions (culinary breeding, multi-actor breeding methodologies, on-farm and seed saving practices), summaries of workshop conclusions, participant lists, and next steps such as a proposed roadmap for EC-LLD. The document highlights calls for continued advocacy on EU seed law, the need for risk assessment and labelling for new GMOs as discussed in the forum, stronger implementation of Farmers’ Rights, and support for community-level seed initiatives (seed libraries, seed swaps, community gardens and seed banks).
Key topics: EU seed marketing reform, new GMOs, Farmers’ Rights, community seed banks, agrobiodiversity, culinary breeding, seed swaps, LLD Forum
