December 5th, is International Volunteer Day, as selected by the United Nations. It is a moment in which volunteers and organizations can share and celebrate their work and efforts. At Gustolab International, we are proud to volunteer with Orme Onlus in Roma. This organization focuses primarily on helping women and girls in need. Their services reach out to women in poverty, by giving food, clothes, hygienic products and also moral support that goes beyond a mere distribution of goods. Orme Onlus aims to improve the lives of these women in difficulty by creating support and offering care. It is clear that volunteering has many benefits for all involved, but volunteering abroad brings forth a whole new skill set. Those involved get to see the reality of a place as it is, not the tourist side of life that many visitors take for truth. By seeing things through the eyes of locals, this opens the doors for a deep cultural immersion. Students are able to give back to the community in which they are involved in, leave their mark and connect with others. Not to mention, while gaining a wide range of transferable skills. Other than obvious language skills, students also develop in softer skills, such as cultural understanding & engagement, problem solving & multidisciplinary thinking, responsibility & flexibility. Students develop their global competence, as they become increasingly aware of the reality of the world around them, and through critical thinking and action, become players in this global environment. The notion of ethical and social responsibility also becomes a reality for the international volunteer, and borders melt away.

The association of environmental journalism 'Greenaccord Onlus' collaborates with the 'Lazio Region Agency for Development and Innovation of Agriculture' this Tuesday, December 4th, from 9 to 14 in the Augustinianum Great Hall of Via Paolo VIto. The focus is the investigation of the role of food and agriculture on the people. Food is of sacred importance for numerous traditions and religions worldwide, but the industrialized system of greed has turned food into something else. From this change, there have many been negative impacts on our health and environment. If we give food the right value and meaning, it has the possibility to open up dialogue and create peaceful coexistence. This is of utmost importance in this day and age, as intolerance seems to creep into more places and minds. So what do we need to return these positive values to food? From the start, we can rethink our consumption styles, production techniques, and agricultural supply chains. We can rediscover traditional knowledge, support small producers and reduce our environmental and social impact. Food can build dialogue, community and peace, and through sharing, can unify people and their culture. A variety of speakers from all different backgrounds will present including Sandro Di Castro, former President of the Roman Jewish Community; Ernesto Di Renzo, Food historian, University of Rome Tor Vergata; Paolo Trianni, Catholic theologian; Yahya Pallavicini, President of COREIS (Italian Islamic religious community) and Svamini Hamsananda, Vice President of the Hindu Community. Stories of integration will be presented like the experience of Semi di Libertà Onlus, which created a microbrewery in the Roman prison of Rebibbia and the role of social agriculture in favor of people with disabilities through the testimony of Salvatore Stingo, president of Capodarco Agriculture. This day is recognized by the Association of Journalists of Lazio as a valid event for vocational training. May this event spark innovative new ideas and provide a place for people to gather in community and peace.

Last week, we took four students attending our Fall Semester program at Gustolab International Food Systems and Sustainability on a field excursion to Milan to participate in the 9th edition of the International Forum on Food and Nutrition, organized every year by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN). The goal of this event is to provide a place for innovators to explore the intersection between sustainability, food, nutrition, agriculture, development and migration. The forum took place at the artistically constructed Hangar Bicocca in Milan. Our students had the occasion to meet experts, international policy-makers and young research fellows presenting their best innovations and scientific research on food, nutrition and sustainability. They discovered many new ideas from the keynote speakers and winners of the Media Awards, including the means and modes to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and were inspired by the presentation of the 2018 BCFN YES! Research Grant Competition. This brought forth young researchers from across the globe to share their projects for promoting sustainable food and agricultural systems. It was inspiring to hear ten young PhD and postdoc researchers from different backgrounds and nationalities present their research projects. One of our students from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Anna Seweryniak, was happy to share her thoughts about the forum. Her overall impression follows: "The International Forum on Food and Nutrition was an eye-opening experience. I enjoyed getting to learn about the impressive projects both in action and in the works. Felix Finkbeiner's speech on his ‘Plant for the Planet’ initiative was particularly inspiring. It was awesome to see how much he and his supporters across the world have managed to accomplish towards the mitigation of climate change in just the last ten years. Likewise, Rita Kimani made a powerful statement with her presentation on Farmdrive, a data-driven model that assesses risk and develops loans that fit the needs of smallholder farmers in Kenya. I also really enjoyed listening to the BCFN YES! award nominees present their new and innovative research projects that aim to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach towards solving world hunger. While the future may seem daunting, these bright, hard-working individuals and their dedication to change makes me hopeful and excited!" . Another student from Lebanon, Rita Chahine stated "Participating in the international forum on food and nutrition has given me a new perspective on the fight against climate change. Although the future may seem grim, I now see the difference people are making and the actions they are taking to protect our planet and secure a safe, sufficient food system for all. The experience has given me hope and inspired me to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Each individual can make a difference. The change starts within you." Additionally, our director Dr. Sonia Massari moderated a working session on Food and Education at the BCFN event. Her focus was on ‘Teaching the SDGs’. The SDGs involve the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals created by the UN, in which united as a global community, we will strive to reach worldwide by 2030. Some of these goals include eradicating poverty, hunger and inequalities, while improving our systems of sustainability, in terms of food, water, energy, health, education, peace and so forth. The SDGs are of global concern, and hopefully with increased awareness of the issues at stake, we will realize that we all have a key role to play in finding solutions. The students trip in Milan included a visit around the old city, paying homage to the Duomo, Gallery of Vittorio Emanuele and La Pinacoteca di Brera. They also had a chance to visit ‘Un Posto A Milano’ which is both a restaurant and a small farm. Their dishes are made with all local kilometer zero products, and they also host a small daily market. We work hard to give our students unique educational opportunities and are grateful for occasions like the Forum which can show how we can improve the sustainability of the food system in innovative and multidisciplinary ways.

The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) is an initiative promoting the implementation of awareness-raising actions about sustainable resource and waste management during a single week. It encourages a wide range of audiences (public authorities, private companies, civil society as well as citizens themselves) to get involved. The 2018 edition will take place from 17 to 25 November 2018! On occasion of EWWR, Gustolab International will be screening videos throughout the day on November 19th that were created by university students regarding food waste issues. The focus is on what can be done to recycle and reuse excess food to benefit the community. There are many examples of ways that people every day are creating innovative solutions to alleviate food waste. A major UN sustainable development goal is to halve global food waste at all levels by 2030. As a global system, the struggle in this field is apparent and action must be taken to confront this issue.

Buoni da Leggere is an evening of discussion around the theme of our daily relationship with diet and the supply chain. The idea is to reeducate our tastes. The book 'Ecology of Desire' by Antonio Cianciullo will be presented by the author. Beginning with environmental sustainability, there will be discussions about the social responsibility of not only to eat, but to eat well. There will be interviews from a range of specialists including the journalist Erica Battaglia, and chef, noted for ethical cooking, Fabio Campoli.

7 students from Roma 3 and Tor Vergata University joined our 20 students here at Gustolab International for a cultural exchange aperitiv! We started with some ice breaking activites to start talking and sharing information, tips and curious facts about life, entertainment and experiences of people in Italy and in Rome! We concluded this nice moment with a glass of wine and some pizza, always a good way to get to know each other!

This Sunday, October 21 at 12pm, our partner Mediterranea is organizing an event with Saj Stories, a traveling table that celebrates the Lebanese food heritage through food experiences and stories. Our student Rita Chahine will work with her colleague Josephine Abou Abdo and Stefania Barzini on a Lebanese/Italian fusion saj session!
There will be also be food prepared by Hummustown, a company managed by Syrian refugees.
Mediterranea is a nonprofit that works with refugees to help them gain professional skills. The event will take place in the beautiful park near Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome.

The UIUC Fall program in Rome starts! Follow our social media channels to follow our activities!

The HWS Fall program in Rome starts! Follow our social media channels to follow our activities!

On July 20, we are hosting the symposium for the 2018 Academic Internship Program. Students will present their projects and share their experiences.

We are happy to have participated in the "ITALY-ASEAN cooperation on Higher Education, Science and Research. Public and Private Synergies" conference held at the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale yesterday. One of the topics during the conference was the "promotion of science, technology and innovation". Among the speakers were Mario Anderle, scientific attaché of the Embassy of Italy in Hanoi, who talked about food innovation and new technologies- related projects in Vietnam and Italy, and Phi Quyet Tien, Deputy Director Institute of Biotechnology Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology who talked about the current status as well as technology challenges for the agroindustry industry in Vietnam.

The Japan Summer 2018 program starts! Follow our social media channels to follow our activities!

Last month, our Director Dr. Sonia Massari partecipated in the workshop "Conversation about agri-food industry" within Cerealia, the festival of cereals in Rome, Italy. The event was organized by Federazione Italiana Dottori in Agraria e Forestali (FIDAF) along with Associazione Passinsieme. The aim of the workshop was to promote discussion between different stakeholders in the agri-food industry and involved researchers, representatives, producers, consumers ,distributors, educators, journalists and associations.

The end goal is the creation of a Manifesto and all materials created towards this end can be found at www.fidaf.it.

The SDGs are important for all college students regardless of their course of study as they pertain to issues that are worldwide regarding every human being. Everyone should send some time learning about Sustainability. Colleges and universities are increasing efforts to promote sustainable campus life and students can make a huge difference if they are involved.

Students with different degree backgrounds can bring their unique perspectives to the table and help make sustainability easier to incorporate in society as a whole. People are influenced by their peers whether they want to be or not, and educating young adults at the high school and collegiate level can change the world.

Make Integrated Thinking happen is the series of annual conferences previously held in Rome (2016) and New York (2017) with the aim to further discuss how Responsible Leaders @ Purposeful Organizations™ endeavour to connect values and value through the implementation of inclusive business models and sustainable strategy fully endorsed by the Board of Directors.

This year we decide to partecipate with our summer program students to the event  "Make Integrated Thinking happen" at Luiss.  The aim of the 28th – 29th May Conference in Rome is to provide a forum to discuss critical issues related to how Integrated Thinking can build a bridge between corporate purpose and sustainable strategy, while articulating a path able to achieve both financial performance and societal/environmental impact.

May 24, 2018 - At the Biblioteca Nazionale di Roma, our colleague Dr. Valentina Valente will be presenting her book "On Suspiria and Beyond". It is a book-interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC, who has collaborated with directors such as Vittorio De Seta, Michelangelo Antonioni, Dario Argento, Maurice Pialat, Valerio Zurlini, Francis Veber, Andrej Tarkovskij, Ettore Scola, Julie Taymor, Barbet Schroeder and many others. Tovoli is also the creator of the European Federation of Cinematographers Imago. The volume retraces all the stages of making Suspiria, from test shots to printing. It describes in detail the making of various sequences, relations with the director, explores the cultural premises of this immortal work and the historical context of the struggle for innovation in the cinematography of the Seventies. Above all, it reveals Luciano Tovoli’s passion and tireless search for an expressive use of color in films, providing us with a first-hand experience of an incredible adventure in aesthetics.

From May 18-20, we will be presenting at the Food and Science Festival in Mantova. The festival will focus on the science of food production and consumption, and promote the exchange of ideas about food innovation, agriculture, culture and science. The event is promoted by Confagricoltura Mantova, created by FRAME and organized by Mantova Agricola. It has received the patronage of the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali, Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Regione Lombardia, Comune di Mantova and the Camera di Commercio di Mantova.

The Italian and International speakers include: Alessio Perniola (physicist and scientific communicator), Marino Niola and Elisabetta Moro (anthropologists), Roberto Defez (researcher), Michele Morgante (Professor at Pisa University), Pierdomenico Perata (chancellor of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Guido Saracco (chancellor of Politecnico di Torino), Luca Sebastiani (Director of Institute of Life Sciences), the American pioneer of Food Archeology Patrick McGovern (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Media) and Franz-W. Badeck (scholar on the relationship between agriculture, food and climate change).

We are happy to welcome 14 Auburn University students for the fourth edition of the faculty-led program on the Mediterranean Diet in Italy. Over the past four years, we have worked together with the faculty lead of the program, Professor Michael Greene, Director of the Metabolic Phenotyping Laboratory and Assistant Professor of Nutrition at the College of Human Sciences of Auburn University, to design a short experiential and research-focused summer program where we examine the Mediterranean Diet through meetings with experts, lectures, visits and excursions in Rome and around Italy. This year, the program will include a week-long excursion in Sicily. Students in past years have had the opportunity to visit Cilento, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria as well as the Emilia-Romagna in the North of Italy.

On May 14-15, we will be in Croatia to present about Gustolab International as a best practice during a meeting about FOODBIZ – University and business learning for new employability paths in food and gastronomy, a two-year project developed in the framework of Erasmus+ programme’s action Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education and aimed to boost smart and sustainable regional development. Specifically, our Director Dr. Sonia Massari will be talking about the innovative teaching methods used at Gustolab International. Based on cross-sectoral dialogue and placed at the exciting convergence of agriculture, food and tourism, the FOODBIZ project is designed to enhance employability of higher-education students, and ultimately stimulate local job growth, by filling in the existing gap between academic skills acquired during their university studies and the actual needs of businesses and entrepreneurs that operate in local food and gastronomy markets. The project directly addresses students, agri-tourism and food tourism players such as food producers, small companies and policy makers. The project coordinators are CONSORTIUM Università di Macerata (Italy - Coordinator), Laboratorio Piceno della Dieta Mediterranea (Italy), Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu (Poland), Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management (Croatia), Goeteborgs Universitet (Sweden), European Cultural Tourism Network AISBL (Belgium), Associacio IGCAT (Spain) and Svinesundskommittén (Sweden) .

https://igcat.org/foodbiz-co-creation-service-learning-innovative-solutions-sustainable-regional-development/

Chelsea McCullough and Sage Biship, two design students from the Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in Vancouver, Canada are visiting Gustolab International between May 9-11 during their study visit in Italy this month where they will be conducting an independent study to analyze and understand the food system in Italy, in relation to production, culture, co-op farming and sustainability.

Today, we will be screening four mini documentaries produced by the students of the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign in the Spring Semester Food and Culture study abroad program at Gustolab International Food Systems and Sustainability in Rome. With the guidance of Dr. Sonia Massari, Gustolab International Academic director and their video instructors, the students brainstormed, directed and produced their documentaries for their Food and Media course over a period of two months. They interviewed members of the Roman community to explore different aspects of Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals that the students had learned about during their spring semester in Rome.

Tel Aviv is hosting 3 major events this week highlighting Israeli innovation in the food and agriculture industries.

Thanks to the invitation of Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we will be part of the Italian delegation.

The events will start on May 6th with FoodTech FastTrack Tel Aviv by Startupbootcamp FoodTech, in partnership with The Kitchen Hub, FoodTechIL and PeakBridge Partners, where the best foodtech startups will be receiving mentoring.

On May 7th, we will be at FoodTech IL 2018 which brings together all the relevant stakeholders in the FoodTech space. The topic for this year’s event will be innovation and technologies in the Food & Beverage sector.

On May 8th, we will be at Agritech 2018 which will focus on efforts and achievements of policy makers, scientists, industries, organizations, farmers, project companies and bankers, working to overcome desert barriers, expand food sources and to “push the envelope” of agricultural limits.

On May 5, our director Sonia will be one of the speakers at TEDx Ortygia in Siracusa, Sicily. She will be speaking about Food and Design.

The TEDx Program is designed to help communities, organizations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED's format and rules, whose main goal is: spread good ideas! The principle theme of the TEDx Ortygia is contamination (in the sense of crossover, exchange, mixing) as a result of the encounter between cultures, or between cultural forms.

The speakers come from the world of entrepreneurship, economy, communication and science and include: Giovanni De Lisi (entrepreneurship), Lorenzo Marini (Art Director), John Peter Sloan (communicator), Riccarda Zezza (social entrepreneurship), Sonia Massari (Director of Gustolab International and human-food and interaction designer), Gregorio De Felice (Chief economist of Intesa Sanpaolo), Maria Pia Abbracchio (University of Milan scientist), and Luca Colombo (Italy Country Manager of Facebook).

Workshop nazionale “Dagli Accordi sulla riformulazione dei prodotti alimentari alla Decade di azione ONU 2016 – 2025 per la nutrizione: una strategia win-win nell’interesse ” . L’evento si terrà a Roma in via Ribotta presso l’Auditorium della sede del Ministero della Salute (Eur)

The Future of Food

(Friday April 13th | 10 am - 12 pm | WeGil Building - Trastevere)

Conference in Italian and English – Limited seats – Simultaneous translation

For the other scheduled events, go on www.romestartupweek.com

How to combine health, access to food and environmental sustainability? Even if we sometimes forget it, it is good to remember that to guarantee the survival of our species it will be necessary to invest more and more on the innovation of the agri-food chain.

Finding and applying the most effective methods and technologies to make food truly sustainable is everyone's job: politicians, companies, startups, researchers and consumers. After all, the rule is always the same: "who is not part of the solution, then it's part of the problem"

Our director Dr. Sonia Massari will speak about the role of food design in the fight against food waste.

http://www.lifefoodwastestandup.eu/en

http://foodwaste.consumatori.it/#progetto

Istituto Affari Internazionali

Nel Mediterraneo è in atto una grande trasformazione urbana, legata alla crescita della popolazione, all'aumento del tasso di urbanizzazione e ai profondi cambiamenti sociali ed economici. Tale trasformazione è particolarmente evidente nelle città. In un contesto caratterizzato dal disimpegno dello Stato e da scarse risorse finanziarie, le città del Mediterraneo gestiscono e dovranno continuare a gestire degli obiettivi a volte contraddittori. Da un lato si cerca infatti di raggiungere una maggiore integrazione in un'economia globalizzata, dall'altro occorre però rispondere alle esigenze delle comunità locali in un ambiente urbano sostenibile, in linea con gli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile delle Nazioni Unite. Le autorità locali offrono un valore aggiunto unico per lo sviluppo sostenibile della regione in virtù della loro prossimità territoriale e della conoscenza dei bisogni locali, contribuendo anche ad aumentare l'efficacia dei progetti di assistenza umanitaria dei donatori nazionali e internazionali.

Il seminario analizzerà il ruolo delle autorità locali nel migliorare la vivibilità delle aree urbane del Mediterraneo, con un focus sui giovani come motore dello sviluppo sostenibile e della stabilità della regione.

http://www.iai.it/it/eventi/i-giovani-e-la-trasformazione-urbana-nel-mediterraneo

We were happy to present in the 2018 edition of Leguminosa!

Leguminosa is back in Naples, the event created by Slow Food Campania that allows curious people and consumers to embark on a journey full of experiences to learn about the world of legumes in Campania, Italy and the world. Born in 2014, Leguminosa is a project aimed at the rediscovery of forgotten flavors that emphasizes the value of seeds, the culture of internal areas and the deepening of issues related to responsible development. Leguminosa is also an opportunity to discover the history of legumes, the culture of the people who cultivate them and consume them and how cultivating them helps economy.

Thanks to Leguminosa, the national network SlowBeans - Leguminosa Community, which unites the producers of legumes protected by the association throughout Italy, will also meet in Naples. The producers of the network will be present in a single area where they will propose the Fagioliadi, putting themselves at stake also from a gastronomic point of view proposing an original dish - obviously – made of legumes. Leguminosa is not a simple fair, but a "lively" event that involves a large consumer audience, reawakening interest, urging sensitivity, creating moments of reflection, debate, information, but also tasting, music and conviviality. All this thanks to a series of spaces dedicated to meetings and comparisons, to the market, to the story and the sharing of stories related to the world of legumes.

Great space will be dedicated to families with "leguminous gardens" made in collaboration with Terra Orti and socializing with social cooking moments in which to learn how to cook legumes in a fun and convivial way.

Not just vegetables. A space will also be reserved for the Mediterranean Triad: extra virgin olive oils, wines, beers and breads, to discover the productive excellence of Campania. Two novelties of this edition: the osterias of pasta and soup, by Pastificio Di Martino and Alma Seges.

www.leguminosa.it

Description in English taken from: http://www.wherenaples.com/en/dining/item/2700-leguminosa.html

Leguminosa è il progetto di Slow Food Campania nato nel 2014 e divenuto un percorso rivolto alla riscoperta di sapori dimenticati e disimparati che pone l’accento al valore delle sementi, alla cultura delle aree interne e all’approfondimento delle tematiche legate allo sviluppo responsabile.

Leguminosa è, nella sua complessità, l’occasione per ripercorrere la storia dei legumi, quali culture coinvolge, quali opportunità, quale futuro oltre l’economia di sussistenza; fino a scoprire quanto e come è cambiata oggi l’agricoltura, come si relaziona con il mondo intero e come dalla globalizzazione è stata penalizzata.

La biodiversità italiana e internazionale dei legumi è il tema del progetto. Il progetto intende portare la conoscenza dei legumi ai consumatori consapevoli mediante una rete di gastronomie e locali amici di Slow Food che ne effettuino la vendita supportata da materiali di comunicazione e consentano la degustazione di ricette che valorizzino i legumi, raccontandone l’origine e il valore nutrizionale. La manifestazione segue invece le linee guida che da sempre caratterizzano gli eventi organizzati da Slow Food: non una semplice fiera, ma un evento “vivo” che coinvolga il pubblico più vasto dei consumatori, risvegliandone l’interesse, sollecitandone la cultura e la sensibilità, creando momenti di riflessione, dibattito, informazione, ma anche di degustazione, assaggio, musica e convivialità.

Description in Italian taken from: http://www.slowfood.it/campania/torna-leguminosa-la-scheda-partecipare-al-mercato/