The Agroecology for Europe Hub has been created by the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy (UNISG), in collaboration with Zetabi for technical development, within the H2020 AE4EU project. It is a virtual space to connect all actors interested or involved in agroecology. Indeed the hub’s vision is to develop a European network on agroecology. Encouraging networking and exchange of information, the finalities of the hub are to connect digitally with colleagues and experts, share knowledge, insights and best practice, learn from experiences and inspire innovation and new ways of working in Agroecology.
In the Hub, users can share content and information illustrating Living Labs, farming practices, but also funding opportunities and policy strategies. Everything can be easily published and found online to create European agroecological connections.
Who can access the hub?
The Hub gathers different stakeholders (farmers integrated into territory, local food hubs, policymakers, food supplier and food producers, restaurants and chefs, NGOs, researchers, teachers, students in higher education institutes, citizens and other actors categories interested in agroecology) to facilitate exchanges in the Europe-wide network of agroecology organizations (linking academic and real-world actors).
How to use the hub?
The hub was designed in a user-friendly way, and it does not require technical skills from you. In the Hub, after creating a personal account HERE, you can find or share different kinds of information and experiences about agroecology – at different levels, from farm stories to funding and research. And the types of uploadable content are:
- Stories from the field
- Articles
- News
- Files
- Resources (that means creating an external link)
- Upload a file or picture
- Create an event description
To enrich the shared content, you can add a title, keywords related to agroecology farming categories, agroecology principles, practices and pillars, but also types of stakeholders interested in the specific content that you are uploading.
Finally, on the homepage, there is an informative section, called ‘experience a growing network’, the only hub section accessible without registration. In this homepage section, you will find resources and information on agroecology: in the first section, called ‘training and practicing’, the definition of agroecology and its principles, guidelines for farmers’ training, and our understanding of living labs are defined. In the section called, ‘sharing your skills and experience’, you can find examples of agroecological initiatives, living labs and academic resources. While, in the last section, funding schemes for researchers, farmers and funded agroecological projects are presented.
Now that you are aware of the new virtual space ‘the Agroecology for Europe hub’, we invite you to start sharing content that needs to be shared with the rest of the European AE network!
Authors: Alice Fassò, Natalia Rastorgueva, Paola Migliorini