Themes

Theme 1 - Empowering the next generation of food systems leaders

• Skills and leadership development: Building regenerative food systems through system thinking, adaptive leadership, and emotional intelligence.
• Youth engagement and inclusion: Supporting youth regenerative leadership through education, mentorship, and participatory governance, with a focus on women and marginalised communities.
• Traditional and local knowledge: Integrating indigenous wisdom and local practices into regenerative food system strategies.
• Policy and governance: Exploring how policies, government, NGOs, and industry coalitions can enable youth engagement and leadership in designing regenerative food systems.
• Digital transformation and innovation: Leveraging agri-tech, AI, and digital advocacy for education, skill-building, and leadership towards regenerative food systems.
• Entrepreneurship and finance: Enhancing access to investment, cooperative models, and innovative financial mechanisms for emerging regenerative food leaders.
• Well-being and resilience: Supporting mental health, peer networks, and regenerative mind sets for long-term leadership sustainability.
• Storytelling and narrative change: Using media, education, and advocacy to shape regenerative leadership and influence policy and consumer behaviour.

Theme 2 - Transforming food systems: Innovation and implementation

• Agroecology and regenerative practices: Exploring the science and practice of sustainable agriculture for climate adaptation and resilience, including natural pest control and pollination, soil health, biodiversity and circularity.
• Technology and innovation: Leveraging new technology and adoption of existing solutions to enhance food production, nutrition, distribution and value chain while minimising environmental impact.
• Policy and governance: How to promote and adopt supportive policies and governance frameworks to accelerate the transition to regenerative food systems.
• AI and digitalisation: Integrate digital tools that work for people, bridging knowledge and research for inclusion and equality.
• Sustainable finance and investment: Exploring innovative and sustainable financing that supports resilience in food systems.

Theme 3 - Equity, justice and resilience 

• Labour and work conditions: Labour relations within households and value chains, health and work safety in relation to agricultural practices, and the formal/informal nature of labour.
• Standardisation, certification, and formalisation of global value chains: The implications of these processes for justice/ injustice and the role of marginalisation of smallholders and producers.
• Social and environmental justice: Addressing issues of gender, equity, access, and the fair distribution of food and resources.
• Climate change adaptation and mitigation: Developing strategies to adapt to effects of climate change in agrifood systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect vulnerable communities.
• Building resilience in food systems: Inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to building resilient and just food systems in the face of climate change, technological change, agrarian transformation, and rising geopolitical tension.