Testimonials and reports from the 11th LLD Forum

You were not present at the past Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum in Budapest??

No problem, thanks to the cooperation of all the speakers and organisers it was possible to make a report with the contents and main outputs of the Forum! Give a check!

DOWNLOAD HERE THE FINAL REPORT

What is a Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum?

The European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! (EC-LLD) draws its origins and foundation from the annual gatherings on agricultural biodiversity known as the Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum. 

Participating in the Forum were 68 different organisations and 28 different countries from all over the World, for a total of 120 registrations.

Within this framework and involving the main national associations, it is possible to involve rural communities and local formal and informal groups in a European conversation. It is within these communities that knowledge about growing, preserving and using local varieties is preserved. This is of crucial importance when we consider the strong genetic erosion and the use of uniform varieties within food production systems. 

The objective of LLD Forums is to develop the issue of agricultural diversity by linking the work and experiences of the different actors involved, including public awareness, and promoting a horizontal and participatory dissemination of knowledge and expertise.

Seeds: a key role

Seeds design the agricultural systems in which they will be grown, and their quality is essential to ensure good production for farmers. At the same time, however, seeds have a social imaginary that moves them out of being just a means of production in agriculture. Indeed, the names of varieties, their characteristics are linked to our history, they once defined our symbolic horizons, tastes and flavours are linked to our tradition and cuisine. But there is more. Those who control the seeds control the food system and what we put on our plates. That is why talking about seeds is not easy and touches emotional chords that are not normally considered by the technicalities with which we usually deal with agricultural matters. Without understanding all these threads that link seeds to society, serious seed policies cannot be made that can meet all the expectations of the many and varied stakeholders.

Involvement of social actors dealing with agrobiodiversity:  an EU on-farm network

The involvement of social actors is essential for the development of a dynamic and collective management and use of agrobiodiversity!

It has been seen how there are many more realities than expected that collectively manage seeds and genetic resources, and these must become central again to the management of genetic resources and minimise genetic erosion. During the DYNAVERSITY project, EC-LLD in collaboration with the CIRAD partner, conducted a Let’s Liberate Diversity! (LLD) and Let’s Cultivate Diversity! (LCD) events-based analysis. This analysis made it possible to study past events and therefore understand how to involve social actors more closely in future events with the aim to promote socio-environmental practices and ensure food security for future generations.  

During the Budapest forum it was presented the results of the study as the interactive online-map obtained by conducting an LLD and LCD events-based analysis and the wordcloud results.

The main goal is to increase capacities for in-situ and on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources by mapping and bringing together stakeholders involved in the dynamic management of plant genetic resources. 

Map of social actors working with agrobiodiversity and EC-LLD membership pathway

In proposing new models of governance,we consider that it is central and fundamental to the social role in the conservation and use of plant genetic resources. For this reason, it is considered important to develop and strengthen national realities and a European network. Organizations as seed savers, seed networks NGOs related to on-farm management and use of PGRFA were mapped. Some of the mapped organizations are historical realities that have been working for years on the national territory, others are new initiatives that are emerging thanks to the agro-ecological impulse of recent years.

Thanks to 10 Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forums and 4 Let’s Cultivate Diversity! meetings, it is possible to better understand the historical context and the way of networking of actors involved in the PGRFA conservation and use across countries and years. Nowadays, these types of meetings would be considered as real Living Labs, where the exchange of knowledge is multi-actor, horizontal and taking into account real-life situations of actors.

SO: Happy reading and see you at the next Let's Liberate Diversity! Forum

DOWNLAOD HERE THE FINAL REPORT

What you will find insiede:

• Summary from the Extraordinary assembly European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity!
• Summaries from each of the 12 workshops, from political-legislative to practical and concrete aspects for the use and conservation of agrobiodiversity and two field visits
• Summary from the Hungarian day “Seeds and Agrobiodiversity in Hungary“
• Pictures showing the 2 international seed exchanges and 2 bread and beer tastings from local varieties
• An art and music session