Sep 12, 2016 - The Auditorium, Sainsbury's Stores Ltd, 33 Holborn London EC1N 2HT .... including press, campaigns, socia
LEAF’s Public Engagement Conference # PublicEngagement
How can we make a step change in public engagement in food and farming? Monday 12th September 2016 The Auditorium, Sainsbury’s Stores Ltd, 33 Holborn London EC1N 2HT
LEAF’s inaugural public engagement conference will explore how we, as an industry, can all work together to make a step change in public engagement in food and farming. The success of initiatives like LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday continues to build, but as an industry we all know we need to do more. In an increasingly urban society, the dominant trends still reflect an increasing disconnection from farming, nature and the environment. Our core question for this event will be: How can we make a step change in public engagement with food and farming? We will be taking inspiration from the experts, as well as from a range of sectors beyond our usual frame of reference; testing out new ways of thinking and working, and starting to develop real strategies and solutions that we can all take forward and develop as an industry. This event is kindly sponsored by:
www.leafuk.org
#PublicEngagement
Programme 9:30 am
Arrival and coffee
10.00 am
Welcome and introduction Caroline Drummond, LEAF Chief Executive
10:15 am Why we need a step change in public engagement in food and farming Michael Winter, Professor of Land Economy and Society, University of Exeter Michael is a rural policy specialist and a rural social scientist with particular interests in applying interdisciplinary approaches to policy-relevant research. He will highlight the urgent need for building stronger links between rural and urban societies. Drawing on his extensive research, Michael will talk about the many societal benefits delivered by farming, which often go undervalued and the importance of developing cross-industry strategies and policies that have public engagement in food and farming at their core.
10:30 am
Panel discussion: How can we make a step change in public engagement with food and farming?
Beth Hart, Head of Technical – Fresh Foods, Sainsbury’s Stores Ltd
Fran Barnes, NFU Director of Communications, National Farmers’ Union
Patrick Middleton, Associate Director of Communications and External Relations, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Chris Manley, National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs Chairman and Agriculture Manager for Chicken and Turkey, Sainsbury’s Stores Ltd
Ian Pigott, Thrales End Business Centre & The Farmschool and LEAF Demonstration Farmer
11.05 am
Opening the conversation: How can we make a step change in public engagement with food and farming?
11.15 am
Coffee and networking
11:30 am
Provocation: What is public engagement anyway? Jon Alexander, Co-founder and Director, New Citizenship Project
Jon will argue that the word ‘engagement’ is used too lightly, and that the current moment in time represents a huge opportunity to make a step change in how we do it. Drawing lessons from a wide range of contexts from the EU referendum to the NHS; from big business to local community, he will share both inspiring case studies and cautionary tales, and provide some key tips on how to make a step change in public engagement work for our sector and for your organisations.
12:05 pm Questions and answers with all morning speakers 12:30 pm LUNCH
www.leafuk.org
#PublicEngagement
Programme 1:15 pm Putting inspiration into practice Introduction by Iris Schönherr, New Citizenship Project
We will use the afternoon to split into groups to work on real projects to see how a step change in public engagement would look like for them. All projects will be introduced beforehand so delegates can choose which discussion group to attend.
1:45 pm
Discussion group - 1st round
2:30 pm
Discussion group - 2nd round
3:05 pm Feedback and key highlights Facilitated by Jon Alexander, New Citizenship Project
One member of each group will give a short presentation back to the room before Jon Alexander summarises the key themes that emerged during the afternoon.
3:50 pm Closing remarks and next steps, Caroline Drummond, LEAF Chief Executive
Caroline will summarise the day’s key messages and direction needed to ensure public engagement with food and farming sits at the very heart of the sustainability debate.
4:00 pm End
LEAF: celebrating 25 years of delivering more sustainable food and farming LEAF celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2016. This is a momentous year, a chance to reflect on past achievements and focus on our strategy for 2020 and beyond. We are organising lots of fundraising events during this landmark year based around the theme ‘delivering healthy food and farming fit for the future’. Support us and join in the celebrations #LEAF25
Join LEAF LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) is the leading organisation delivering more sustainable food and farming. We work with farmers, the food industry, scientists and consumers, to inspire and enable sustainable farming that is prosperous, enriches the environment and engages local communities. We help our farmer, corporate and college members farm more sustainably and demonstrate their commitment to sustainable farming through our tools, services and demonstration activities. You can support our work and get involved in all our activities by joining LEAF at www.leafuk.org
www.leafuk.org
#PublicEngagement
Speakers Dr Patrick Middleton, Associate Director of Communications and External Relations, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Patrick heads up BBSRC’s communication and engagement programme. BBSRC is the UK’s public principle funder of agricultural research at universities and insitutes. His team develops and delivers a broad range of public and stakeholder engagement activities targeted at a variety of audiences from young people and teachers to farmers and shoppers.
Caroline Drummond MBE, LEAF Chief Executive Caroline set up LEAF in 1991. Her work focuses on encouraging more sustainable farming practices and building a better public understanding of farming and the environment. She is actively involved in many industry partnerships and initiatives. In 2009, Caroline was awarded the MBE for services to the agriculture industry and has recently completed a Nuffield Scholarship. Michael Winter OBE, Professor of Land Economy and Society, University of Exeter Michael is a rural policy specialist and social scientist with particular interests in applying inter-disciplinary approaches to policy-relevant research and in direct engagement in the policy process. His current research focuses on the governance of sustainable agro-food systems and food security; the historical and contemporary sociology of west country agriculture; and farmer environmental attitudes and decision-making, particularly in the context of diffuse pollution and water quality. He leads Project 2 of Defra’s Sustainable Intensification Research Platform. He also chairs the UNESCO North Devon Biosphere Partnership and the Uplands Alliance.
Chris Manley, National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs Chairman and Agriculture Manager for Chicken and Turkey, Sainsbury’s Stores Ltd Chris draws on many years of experience in the Young Farmers movement where he is now leading the organisation as Chairman, actively encouraging over 24,000 members in England and Wales to participate in events like Open Farm Sunday to help better engage the public with British Food and Farming. This is complimented by his role as an Agriculture Manager at Sainsbury’s, where he jointly lead the on-farm activities that Sainsbury’s initiated this year to enhance their sponsorship of Open Farm Sunday 2016.
Beth Hart, Head of Technical – Fresh Foods, Sainsbury’s Stores Ltd Beth heads up the technical team for Fresh Foods and Agriculture at Sainsbury’s where she is responsible for driving the quality, innovation and agricultural agenda and protecting and enhancing the Sainsbury’s Brand. Beth has over 20 years’ experience in the food and retail industry and in her current position Beth oversees the delivery of the quality and health strategy in the fresh food division, which includes all of produce, meat, fish and poultry, bakery and meal solutions from field to fork.
Ian Pigott OBE, Chairman, Farming and Countryside Education and LEAF Demonstration Farmer Ian runs a diversified farming business in Hertfordshire. The farm is a LEAF Demonstration Farm which is in higher level stewardship and operates cover cropping and zero-till across 2000 acres. Ian opened his education centre The Farmschool in 2014. The programme hosts food, farming and cooking visits for several thousand children from inner city and local schools. He is Chairman of FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) and sits on the steering group for the Agri Food Careers initiative Bright Crop. Ian is a Nuffield Scholar, the founder of Open Farm Sunday and a columnist for the Farmers Weekly.
Fran Barnes, NFU Director of Communications, National Farmers’ Union Fran has responsibility for all external communications including press, campaigns, social media, online as well as NFU membership publications. Fran is also responsible for the NFU’s London office and oversees the Public Affairs and Westminster lobbying functions of the NFU. Prior to joining the NFU, Fran spent 20 years working at the BBC on national radio stations including BBC Radio Five Live and Radio 4. Notably Fran was editor of On Your Farm, The Food Programme, Costing the Earth and Farming Today, which she led to achieve record audience figures. Since joining the NFU she has led NFU communications campaigns across all sectors including SOS Dairy, the response to the horsemeat scandal, the TB eradication strategy PR, the Healthy Harvest campaign as well as developing and leading the launch of the NFU’s current Back British Farming Campaign.
Jon Alexander, Co-founder and Director, New Citizenship Project Jon co-founded the New Citizenship Project, an innovation company and consultancy which aims to create a participatory society where consumerism isn’t the default option for the way we engage as individuals and organisations. Prior to this, Jon worked in brand strategy in top advertising agencies and directly for the National Trust, where he was responsible for award winning participation ideas ‘MyFarm’ and ‘Project Wild Thing’. Jon is currently leading a collaborative innovation project on the Food System, looking at how organisations in the food industry might create more value in the food system by challenging the ‘consumer’ status quo. Iris Schönherr, Facilitator and Co-ordinator, New Citizenship Project Iris works across all New Citizenship Project’s initiatives and is a skilled facilitator and workshop designer. Having completed her MA in Global Ethics and Human Values at King’s College London, Iris joined New Citizenship Project as Co-ordinator in 2013. She developed her interest in participatory leadership after being trained in The Art of Hosting in 2015 and has a certificate in Leadership and Facilitation from Schumacher College.
LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2LG www.leafuk.org | Tel: +44 (0)2476 413911 |
[email protected] @LEAF_Farming
facebook.com/LinkingEnvironmentAndFarming
LEAF is a registered charity (Number 1045781)
www.leafuk.org
#PublicEngagement
