Introduction

 

The aim of this Third Edition is to offer participants, students and professionals, a global vision of the environmental, economic, legal, social as well as communicative aspects, related to food sustainability and to promote skills that allow participants to apply the knowledge acquired to their professional experience with a view to producing and marketing food products consistent with the principles of sustainability.

In the still present global emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly altered the paradigms and horizons of our daily life, in its social and economic aspects, the theme of sustainability and its challenges will be proposed also from a different perspective that considers the structural changes that occurred in our lifestyle.

The School, therefore, will tackle in depth, thanks to the contribution of internationally renowned scholars and participants from different countries of the world, the dynamics of food chain sustainability in a pre- and post-pandemic picture.

The School also intends to adopt the EU "Council Recommendation" of 22nd May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning, promoting in particular:

• citizenship skills, namely: "(...) ability to act as responsible citizens and to participate fully in civic and social life, based on an understanding of social, economic, legal and political structures and concepts, as well as "global evolution and sustainability";
• entrepreneurial competence, which "(...) is based on creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, initiative and perseverance, as well as the ability to work collaboratively to plan and manage projects";
• competence in cultural awareness and expression, which "(...) involves understanding and respecting the way in which ideas and meanings are creatively expressed and communicated in different cultures and across a whole range of arts and other cultural forms".
  Attention will be paid to the promotion of transversal skills such as soft skills through appropriate teaching methodologies and specific modules of intercultural communication.

Only for the "students" the summer school will also include a labour-intensive student-competition designed and coordinated by Prof. Domenico Dentoni, University of Montpellier (FR) (professionals are not required to take part in it).

 

The Summer School will be divided into three stages:

1. A first warming-up, from 6th June to 26th June part in which various materials (documents to read, videos, case studies etc) will introduce the participant to the main issues related to the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, in particular to food sustainability; in this preliminary phase, in addition to recorded lessons, work groups will be organized in which participants will have to face real problems linked to the territory and propose solutions based on what they have learned.
2. A second part consisting of one week of live stream lectures, from 27th June to 1st July, round tables and testimonies of companies that have experienced innovative approaches to sustainability to allow and encourage participants to intervene and discuss directly with the speakers. The involvement of foreign or Italian teachers who operate abroad will offer a wide overview of the current situation in Europe and at a broader international framework;
3. A follow-up that will include a global assessment and feedback from the students.
   The lectures will be in English, and a certificate of participation will be issued at the end of the School, provided that the participant has attended at least 80% of the activities.

The programme will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from environmental problems to socio-economic, legal, and political issues related to food production and sustainability.

 

Expected outcomes for students

The target of this Summer School for the students will be to allow them to acquire tools, methods, and reliable sources through which they will be able to analyse in a critical perspective, problems related to sustainability and focusing on issues related to food.

Apart from lectures by experts, students will get in touch with real cases presented and discussed by people working in the field.

 

Expected outcomes for professionals

During the course, professionals will meet the various aspects of sustainability in the food perspective. The approach is international and multi-disciplinary and will allow to tackle issues that extend from the primary production to the shelf and beyond.

Apart from lectures by experts, plenty of real cases will be presented and discussed by people working in the field and this will allow the exchange of experiences and the possibility to establish professional connections.