Assembly Outline
Assembly 2010 Program Outline -- Université de Montréal, Nov. 26-28
Weaving Together Food Policy and Community Action : an agenda for change
Tisser une Agenda pour une Politique Alimentaire: nourir nos actions
The Assembly will begin with a keynote panel on Friday, November 26, focusing on the 'big picture' around food, energy, and climate change, with a panel of speakers from the 'global South' and Canada. The speakers will unveil the international corporate agenda and discuss the responses from small farmers and social movements against land grabs and the degeneration of agriculture into the production of biomass for whatever industrial purpose is currently convenient. This discussion will be placed in the context of the movement for Food Sovereignty.
From Saturday morning, November 27, to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 28, there will be a series of workshops and presentations addressing two interlinked themes:
1. Weaving An Agenda: Food Sovereignty policy for Canada
The Assembly will feature the policy proposals from the People's Food Policy Project, providing an introduction to the whole policy document in the initial plenary session, and one workshop on each of the ten policy papers, with the aim of ensuring full discussion of the proposals and building a base for advocacy
2. Nourishing Our Actions: Food Sovereignty in practice
Workshops, plenary sessions, panel discussions, roundtables, and other sessions (including film and posters) will encourage people engaged in creating food sovereignty on the ground in Canada to share their experiences and insights. In particular, the Assembly will highlight the work of food activists in Québec and make links between the work in Québec and the rest of Canada. It will also focus on making links across sectors and areas of practice in creating food sovereignty, through initiatives which encourage a local food economy, support small-scale and ecological food providers, ensure sustainable livelihoods in the food system, increase access of Indigenous peoples to their traditional food sources, promote independent seed saving and breeding, facilitate sharing of traditional knowledge and research which is built on a variety of ways of knowing, respect and encourage community sharing of food and cultures.
In addition to the workshops focusing on the People's Food Policy, there will be approximately 20 other workshop spaces of approximately 1 hour 20 minutes each. Members of FSC and Québec partners are encouraged to submit workshop proposals dealing with the above themes and related topics. Interactive formats are preferred, but the standard presentation /discussion format is acceptable. The final program will be decided by the Program Committee which includes members from Food Secure Canada Steering Committee and conference partners from Québec organizations.
The deadline for proposals is June 14th, 2010; final program announcement September 10th.