Day 1 - Buzz and idea sharing

There is such a buzz at Ultuna today, Tuesday, as the participants for Agri4D 2025 arrive! And that buzz you can hear is the cross-pollination of ideas, experiences and enthusiasm, all about this year’s theme: Nurturing regenerative food systems in a changing climate. “Long time no see” is something I overhear, as old friends meet once again; this is the first in-person Agri4D since 2019.

It is also a great chance to make new friends. There was something special about being here today with other people. Feeling the wooden boards of the bridge to Main Hall echo under my feet; tasting the coffee as I talk to experts and practitioners from many lands; and smelling the earth of central Sweden as it warms under the late autumn sun, reminding us that all we do happens within the context of the cycles of the natural world.

But if you are not able to make it here to be with us in Uppsala there will be a lot of sessions online - so I look forward to hearing your ideas and comments in the video sessions!

Registration on-site opens again tomorrow morning, Wednesday, at 0800; and we will start the day at 0830 with a welcome from the Vice Chancellor of the university, Maria Knutson Wedel, as well as the state secretary for Rural Affairs Daniel Liljeberg and the director-general of Sida, Jakob Granit.

I'm looking forward to seeing you there, and learning from you and being inspired by you.

Greetings from Loukas, 
Master's student at SLU