The 9th edition of the Origin, Diversity and Territories Forum took place on 13, 14 and 15 October 2021 in Valposchiavo ( Grisons, Switzerland), with the title “Ruptures and rebounds of territorialized food systems“.
The Forum was organised by the association Origin for Sustainability with the support of Polo Poschiavo. For coordinating the activities, the Forum relied on the support of its partners: FAO, CIRAD, University of Lausanne, INRAE, INTA, AIDA (association), Ecole supérieure d’agricultures d’Angers (ESA), VetAgroSup, University of Bologna, University of Thessaloniki, University of Pantheon, University of Lyon.
The ODT Forum was organised by the association Origin for Sustainability with the support of Polo Poschiavo. For the coordination of the activities the Forum could also count on the support of its partners: FAO, CIRAD, University of Lausanne, INRAE, INTA, AIDA (association), Ecole supérieure d’agricultures d’Angers (ESA), VetAgroSup, University of Bologna, University of Thessaloniki, University of Pantheon, University of Lyon.
Forum 2021 was supported by the OFAG (Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture), the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Swiss Association for the Promotion of PDO-PGI and Polo Poschiavo.
The 2021 edition offered numerous conferences, workshops and field visits in the Valposchiavo area.
As in the 2020 edition, due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, the activities were carried out in a hybrid on-site and remote format. All material, including short documentaries for the visits, was pre-recorded in video and made available to participants remotely.
One of the most important axes of the Forum 2021 was the “One Health” approach (FAO-WHO-OIE) that studies the link between human, animal and environmental health. Alongside this theme, the workshops discussed recent research on the sustainability of territorialized food systems, and the innovation trajectories to be undertaken to face global crises.
Four thematic workshops were organised during the Forum:
- The first workshop presented projects aimed at rethinking the preservation of natural and heritage resources in food systems, drawing lessons from the vulnerabilities revealed by the crisis.
- The second workshop focused on alternative and solidarity-based exchange networks, with a focus on all the informal initiatives that emerged during the pandemic period.
- The third workshop focused on the identification, recognition and amplification of “weak signals”: a key to studying the support of innovations in the territories.
- Finally, the fourth workshop focused on mountain territories and their rebound dynamics in the face of crises.
A total of 268 participants, including researchers, students and field workers, took part in the ODT Forum activities, either virtually or in person. This year, the Forum also had a good international participation with participants from 5 continents and 58 different countries.
Regarding the innovative aspects of this 2021 edition, the Virtual Forum, which had already been implemented in 2020, was improved thanks to a more fluid management of the conferences, with simultaneous translations and facilitated moderation of exchanges between participants on site and at a distance.
Several simultanous visits per workshop were carried out in the Valposchiavo territory: meetings with organic herb and cheese producers, discussions with the creators of the digital hyper map of the Valposchiavo, exchanges with a landscape expert and a forest ranger, and many others. This year, all travel was done on foot or by public transport, allowing participants to travel on the famous Bernina Express.
On the other hand, large student participation characterised the 2021 forum, with a total of 50 students from different universities in France (Angers and Clermont Ferrand) and Switzerland (Zurich) travelling to Grisons to participate in the forum.
Valposchiavo is an inspiring territory that tells us about its sustainable ecological and economic trajectories, the aspirations of the 100% Valposchiavo brand and the strength of an inter-professional network. Because of its geography and local dynamism, Valposchiavo has been an excellent open-air laboratory for analysing innovative territorial responses in favour of the ecological transition.
We would like to thank all the people who contributed to the organisation of this Forum 2021: the partners, sponsors, staff, volunteers, translators, students and all the other participants. Polo Poschiavo has been an excellent partner and sponsor for the 2021 edition of the ODT Forum, and we hope that it will continue to accompany us in future editions.
Author: Isabella Maglietti Smith, ODT Forum Communication Manager