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Events and Webinars
Throughout the year, the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies hosts events and webinars focused on food, biodiversity and sustainability, featuring partners throughout our network.
Upcoming Events
Agroecology in Action: Stories of Resilient Food Systems
October 9, 2025 | 10:00am-11:30am ET
Register through Zoom
Agroecology offers both a vision and a practice for transforming food systems toward resilience, equity, and sustainability. Join the Food, Learning, and Growing (FLOW) Partnership to explore how the agroecology movement is taking shape in diverse regional contexts. Featuring stories from Mexico, Kenya, Sri Lanka and the Northwest Territories (Canada), speakers will share perspectives and strategies for advancing agroecological approaches. Together, we will consider how the movement has evolved globally and locally, the enablers and barriers shaping its adoption, and the supports needed for robust transitions. This conversation will highlight lessons that can be drawn across regions to strengthen the movement worldwide and position agroecology as a cornerstone of resilient regional food systems.
Featuring
Laura Gómez Tovar is an engineer in agroecology from the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo. She holds a Master’s degree in Science, Society and Technology, with a specialization in Innovation Systems and Ecological and Social Change, from Roskilde University and Aalborg University in Denmark. She is a researcher and professor in the Department of Agroecology at the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, as well as a founding researcher of the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Integral Rural Development (CIIDRI). Laura helped establish Chapingo’s Organic Local Market (Tianguis Orgánico Chapingo) and the Mexican Network of Local Organic Markets, both important platforms supporting sustainable agriculture and local economies. Laura is currently collaborating with farmers, researchers, and community leaders in Veracruz State, Mexico to gradually scale up agroecology, prioritizing community-based economies, social justice, health and well-being, and network-based knowledge-sharing.
Chatura Pulasinghage is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, with research focused on food system transformation in Sri Lanka. His work explores the role of agroecology networks, champion farmers, and policymakers in building more resilient and sustainable food systems. Chatura completed his Master’s in Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph and brings over 20 years of experience as an agricultural policy advocate, working with the United Nations, World Bank, European Union, and Sri Lanka’s Ministries of Agriculture and Finance. Through the FLOW Partnership, Chatura shares perspectives on the evolution of agroecology in Sri Lanka and the strategies that can enable its wider adoption.
Sam Gudu is a Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding at Rongo University, Kenya. He earned his PhD degree in Plant Genetics & Molecular Biology from the University of Guelph, and holds a Masters degree in Genetics & Plant Breeding from the University of Nairobi. He has over thirty years of experience in university leadership, part of which, as Vice-Chancellor at Rongo University; Principal at Rongo University College; and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Director of Research, and Acting Dean at Moi University. An active researcher, he has participated in regional and international research consortia with universities in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Brazil, USA, Sweden, China and Kenya. He is a co-investigator of the FLOW Partnership where he leads the work in Migori County, Kenya to promote climate-resilient agricultural practices through farmer organizations and agricultural knowledge-sharing.
Jennifer Temmer (she/her) is a recent PhD graduate and research associate with the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her PhD research developed a Community Agroecological Values Framework (CAVF) in partnership with the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation in the Northwest Territories, Canada, to support the communities goals toward Indigenous food sovereignty and well-being. With a background in international development, rural planning, and agricultural business management, she has collaborated on sustainable food projects across Latin America and Northern Manitoba. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, her work emphasizes integrating Indigenous worldviews into food systems planning, centering community values that support healthy people and Land.
Past Events
September 18, 2025 | 9:00am-10:30am EST |
Webinar Recording - coming soon
Webinar Description:
Building on the themes from the first session in our Power & Resistance series, this webinar delves into how power operates and is resisted within regional food systems.
Featuring examples from the FLOW Partnership, speakers describe communities are driving food systems change in their unique contexts:
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Veracruz, Mexico – Collective action leading to a ban on state-sponsored pesticide and resistance to glyphosate.
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Northwest Territories, Canada – Climate change adaptation rooted in Indigenous knowledge, paving the way for supportive policies.
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Andhra Pradesh, India – A statewide shift toward Natural Farming and building agroecological knowledge through farmer training programs.
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Southern Brazil – The designation of shade-grown Erva Mate as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.
These stories reveal how community-led action, traditional knowledge, and agroecology can shape policies and catalyze food system transformation.
Speaker Biographies
Erin Nelson is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology. With a background in International Development and Rural Studies, her research explores the development of more sustainable food systems with a particular focus on agroecology initiatives in both Canada and Latin America. In particular, she is interested in how knowledge-exchange can build capacity for agroecological production, and how agroecology can contribute to ecological resilience and community wellbeing. In Veracruz, Mexico, she collaborates with farmer networks, researchers and civil society organizations to scale up agroecological production of small-scale citrus farmers in ways the are healthy for their land and communities.
Andrew Spring is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Canada Research Chair in Northern Sustainable Food Systems and Director of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. His research is driven by community priorities in the Northwest Territories to advance sustainable food systems and build capacity around climate change adaptation. For over 10 years Andrew has supported participatory action research projects in collaboration with First Nations communities in the NWT. He is the Principal Investigator on The Future Harvest Partnership which engages with food producers and local communities of the Northwest Territories to co-create research and generate insights for innovation and policy that can inform the development of a climate-resilient local food system.
Johanna Wilkes recently completed her PhD in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Johanna’s research examines how international institutions address climate-resilient farming and sustainable food futures, with a particular focus on agroecological transitions. Working with partners in Andhra Pradesh, India, Johanna has explored how Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) reduces farmer debt, builds on traditional knowledge, and fosters farmer-to-farmer learning. Her work highlights how enabling policy frameworks, influential advocates, community-led partnerships, and farmer-to-farmer learning networks have converged to make ZBNF one of the largest agroecological transitions in the world.
Eve Nimmo is a historical archaeologist whose career spans Brazil, Ecuador, Canada, and the UK, working across museums, NGOs, and universities. Her research brings together public history, community-based research, oral histories, and material culture to explore cultural heritage in its many forms. In Southern Brazil, Eve works with local communities to value and protect the agroecological and agroforestry systems to produce shade-grown erva-mate in the Araucaria Forest of Paraná. By building networks grounded in traditional knowledge and practice, she supports the development of cultural and environmental heritage conservation programs, policies, and strategies that sustain both livelihoods and landscapes.
Thursday May 29, 2025
Webinar Description:
About the speakers:
Jennifer Clapp is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability and the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo. She has published widely on the global governance of problems that arise at the intersection of the global economy, food security and food systems, and the natural environment. Professor Clapp is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). From 2019-2023, she served on the Steering Committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and was Vice-Chair of that body from 2021-2023.
Molly Anderson is a Research Associate Professor at UVM and directs the Academic Program in Food Studies at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she teaches about hunger and food security, fixing food systems, and sustainability. She is especially interested in multi-actor collaborations for sustainable food systems, sustainability metrics and assessment, food system resilience, human rights in the food system, and the right to food in the US and other industrialized countries. She is also interested in bridging interests and concerns of academicians, community-based activists and social movements. She is involved in food system reform and planning at the local, state and regional scales; participates in the regional Food Solutions New England network and the national Inter-Institutional Network for Food, Agriculture & Sustainability; and is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).
Haroon Akram-Lodhi is a Professor of Economics, Global Justice and Development at Trent University, Peterborough, Canada, and he is an Associate Editor of Feminist Economics. The focus of Haroon Akram-Lodhi's research is on the engendered political economy of agrarian change in the countries of the global South, on the economic dimensions of gender relations, and on the political ecology of gendered sustainable rural livelihoods in contemporary low- and middleincome countries. He is currently a Gender and Livelihoods Advisor to the World Food Programme, and has acted as an advisor to UN Women, UN Environment, UNDP and the United Nations Capital Development Fund. Haroon Akram-Lodhi has lived, taught, and conducted research in numerous countries, published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, and has received honorary appointments at universities in Canada, the US, and the UK.
February 6, 2025
Webinar description:
The UNESCO Chair on FBSS hosted a book panel discussion with featured panelists Moe Garahan, Joshna Maharaj and Debbie Field. This conversation highlighted the need for an integrated, values-based approach to public procurement that aligns with policies supporting sustainable food production and consumption. They emphasized the significance of the "public plate" in shaping societal values and the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders, from farmers to students, to create coherent and responsive food systems. This inspriring discussion underscored the transformative potential of public food provisioning systems to address the interconnected challenges facing the food system, and the critical role of grassroots movements, civil society organizations, and government policies in realizing this vision.
Speaker Biographies:
Kevin Morgan is a Professor of Governance and Development at Cardiff University, Wales, recognized for his expertise in place-based innovation strategies and sustainable development. He has collaborated with the European Commission, OECD, and urban and regional governments across Europe, offering strategic insights to advance equitable and sustainable growth. Kevin’s research spans innovation, spatial development, food sustainability, devolution, governance, the foundational economy, and civic and social enterprise. With research funded by organizations such as the ESRC, British Academy, European Commission, and the Gates Foundation, Kevin has contributed significantly to advancing policy and practice in both local and global contexts. His work has shaped approaches to food sustainability and regional innovation, emphasizing the importance of governance and grassroots initiatives in fostering resilient economies. Kevin continues to bridge academia and practice, working with governments and development agencies worldwide to drive impactful change.
Moe Garahan has been working on food and farming issues since 1995. She is the Executive Director of Just Food Community Farm, a vital hub promoting sustainable agriculture, food security, and community engagement in Eastern Ontario. Her work has significantly contributed to the growth of sustainable local food networks across the region. She has become a key advocate for regional food systems change as her work spans coast-to-coast-to-coast. She is also the Partnership Coordinator for the Common Ground Network and Food Communities Network and is actively involved in Sustain Ontario. As a passionate advocate for sustainable food systems, Moe believes deeply in the power of collaboration and grassroots action to build resilient communities.
Debbie Field is the Coordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, a network of over 330 organizations advocating for a National School Food Program and Policy in Canada. A lifelong community activist, she is passionate about grassroots campaigns and has played a pivotal role in expanding student nutrition programs across Canada. As the former Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto, she helped develop innovative school food initiatives and co-founded the Coalition for Healthy School Food. Debbie also contributes to academia, teaching at McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy and holding affiliations with the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Joshna Maharaj is a chef, activist, and speaker dedicated to reimagining institutional food systems to prioritize health, sustainability, and dignity. She champions the transformation of hospital, school, and institutional meals, advocating for fresh, locally sourced food and a return to meaningful connections with what we eat. Joshna is a two-time TEDx speaker and oft sought-after voice. As an educator, she is deeply invested in nurturing students and considering the future of the hospitality industry. Joshna is the author of Take Back the Tray (May 2020), which describes her work building new models for institutional food procurement, production and service. The book was recognized on the longlist of the Toronto Book Awards and as winner of the World Gourmand Cookbook Award in 2020.
Moderated by Alison Blay-Palmer
March 14, 2024
Balsillie School for Interntional Affairs, 67 Erb St. W., Waterloo, Room 142; and online.
Panel Abstract:
To mark International Women’s Day this year, join us as we hear from Carla Johnston, Laine Young, and Dr. Andrea Brown about their research in the Northwest Territories, Quito, and Uganda. Panelists will explore the relationship between gender and sustainability, and discuss the crucial role of women in building food systems transformation - both within the communities they work in and as researchers themselves.
Speaker Biographies:
Dr. Andrea Brown (she/her) is an Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science and Coordinator of Women and Gender Studies at Laurier. Her research focuses on the nexus between urban food security with sustainable development, gender, migration and governance, and the multi-level policy environments supporting anti-poverty measures in East Africa. Her current research project looks at the food security of mixed migrants in Kampala, Uganda, and seeks to identify ways to improve cooperation and supports among different governmental and non-governmental policy actors.
Laine Young (she/her) is a PhD Candidate from Wilfrid Laurier University in the Geography and Environmental Studies program. She works with the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems on her dissertation research exploring intersectional feminist analysis in urban agriculture projects in Quito, Ecuador.
Carla Johnston (she/her) is a PhD Candidate at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a specialist in community-based participatory action research, Indigenous rights, and food systems governance from the local to global scale. Carla has 10 years of experience in political advocacy, community-level planning, and policy development in the Northwest Territories, Canada and at the United Nations.
Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer (she/her) - moderator - UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity, and Sustainability Studies.
March 14, 2023
Presentation Abstract
Although we marked the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit last year, we still are farther than ever from our sustainability goals. In this webinar, our panel of experts, Robert McLeman, Miriam Medel Garcia, and Magdalena Ackermann, reflect on and answer questions at the intersection of food security, climate change, migration, desertification and land rights to address key directions about the future of people and the planet.
Speakers
Alison Blay-Palmer (Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies).
Magdalena Ackerman (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Food Systems, Nutrition and Agroecology, Society for International Development).
Miriam Medel Garcia (Chief, Global Policy Advocacy and Regional Cooperation for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Mexican diplomat and former Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework to Combat Climate Change).
Robert McLeman (Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University; Lead Author for IPCC Report, 2022, ‘Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities’).
December 8, 2022
Watch the event here.
Agroecology across mixed and diverse landscapes is a pathway for the global community to avoid ineffective “fortress conservation” approaches that have proven to have limited impact and in many situations lead to systematic violations of local communities’ rights. It can help to reconnect humans and nature as unified systems and offer pathways for just and resilient food systems. It is clear that without a strong focus on agroecology, our global targets for biodiversity conservation are bound to miss the mark.
This side event will explore the importance of agroecological approaches for the Global Biodiversity Framework and beyond. It will also shine a light on emerging coalitions and policy actions that are linking agroecology and agricultural biodiversity, as crucial pathways to transform food systems.
See the full side-event listing for more details.
November 17, 2022
Presentation Abstract
This online panel discussion explores how climate change is impacting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the Northwest Territories. Drs. Jennifer Baltzer, Frances Stewart, and Heidi Swanson discuss the implications of climate warming induced disturbances in the boreal forests, changes to wildlife habitats and distribution, and warming of aquatic ecosystems for northern food systems and biodiversity. Panelists discuss links between northern landscapes, people, and food systems and explain how their research contributes to our understanding of how changing northern ecosystems can be managed in the future. Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies, moderates a group discussion connecting research taking place in the Northwest territories to global discussions about climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable food systems.
Speakers
Alison Blay-Palmer (Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies)
Dr. Jennifer Baltzer (Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair at Wilfrid Laurier University)
Dr. Frances Stewart (Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Northern Wildlife Biology)
Dr. Heidi Swanson (Associate Professor and Jarislowsky Chair in Sustainable Water Futures)
January 25, 2022
For the UN International Day of Education 2022, the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies delivered a keynote, "Sharing Stories of Sustainable Food System Transformation: Podcasts and Community Learning," at the Educational Pedagogies & Technologies for Sustainable Development—Translating Sustainable Innovation for Communities (EPTS 2022) international symposium, hosted by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Presentation Abstract
Work by the UNESCO Chair on Food Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Balsillie School for International Affairs offers significant, relevant insights for sustainability pedagogy, knowledge mobilization and community learning. Sustainable food systems are at the nexus of healthy people and a healthy planet. They can address United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and underpin other SDGs including our capacity to address poverty and gender equality through viable livelihoods and food access, environmental regeneration through improved soils, air, water and biodiversity, the creation of more viable rural and urban communities, as well as social and cultural goals by valuing and honouring food heritage and traditions. This research also provides inspirational stories to bring learning to life. One of the most accessible and interesting ways we do this is through our podcast, Handpicked: Stories from the Field. The podcast allows us to bring together the many voices in communities that are addressing challenges such as climate change, food insecurity and biodiversity loss. For example, three podcasts focus on Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories in Canada. Elders, youth and community leaders tell the stories of how traditional food systems are adapting to and can help mitigate the climate crisis.
Speakers
Alison Blay-Palmer (Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies), Amanda Di Battista (Director of Programs, Education and Communication, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies)
July 8, 2021
Dialogue Page and Official Feedback | Plenary Recordings and Transcript
While there is increased recognition of the importance of territorial governance for transforming food systems and of its relevance to a variety of action areas and solution clusters within the final stages of the Food Systems Summit preparation, it is important to gain a better understanding of the concrete measures which could help bring this about. To catalyze change, we need to know more about the actions that help ensure success as well as what hampers implementation of integrated approaches. This dialogue added to the growing knowledge base about how to enact territorial governance to build resilient food systems and provided insights to ensure consistency and synergy of pathways leading to sustainable territorial food systems.
Territorial food systems must bring together stakeholders from relevant sectors across key administrative levels to enhance food system resilience and spark synergistic complementarities so that relatively lower-level actions can deliver a higher-level outcome. To do this effectively, users of such approaches need to define their aims according to the context and circumstances.
Speakers: Manuel Lapão (CPLP, Inter-governmental organizations), Gabriel Ferrero (Spain, National government), Rodrigo Messias (UCLG), Stefano Marta (A Territorial Approach to the SDGs, OECD), Elodie Valette (CIRAD, Research Institution)
Oct. 16, 2020 | World Food Day Webinar
COVID-19 has exposed many pre-existing challenges and inequities in our food system, and disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities and migrant agricultural workers across Canada. For World Food Day 2020, the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies hosted a webinar featuring food system experts and advocates Melana Roberts, Stephanie Morningstar, Gabriel Allahdua, and Janet McLaughlin. During the webinar, the panelists discussed how people experience food system inequities and explored the impact of COVID-19 on their work. They also made suggestions on how we can work together to create a food system that is more equitable, responsive, and just.
Speakers: Gabriel Allahdua (Justice for Migrant Workers), Janet Mclaughlin (Migrant Worker Health Project, Wilfrid Laurier University), Melana Roberts (Food Secure Canada, Toronto Food Policy Council), Stephanie Morningstar (Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust)
Moderator: Alison Blay-Palmer (UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies)
26 junio 2020
En este seminario examinaremos por qué la gestión de la biodiversidad y los ecosistemas son componentes importantes para construir sistemas alimentarios sostenibles. Escuchará a investigadores que trabajan directamente con comunidades que practican sistemas de producción de alimentos centradas en ecosistemas biodiversos. Basándose en la investigación fundada en comunidades en Brasil y México en el contexto de los movimientos globales actuales de biodiversidad e sostenibilidad, aprenderá sobre los desafíos únicos que enfrentan los actores de los sistemas alimentarios y cómo las comunidades utilizan la agroforestería y otros principios ecológicos de producción de alimentos para guiar su trabajo.
Ponentes: Alison Blay-Palmer (Catedra de UNESCO en Estudios de Alimentación, Biodiversidad y Sostenibilidad y Directora do Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Canadá), Laura Gomez Tovar (Profesora Investigadora del Depto. de Agroecología, Investigadora miembra del CIIDRI, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico), Andre Lacerda (Investigador, Embrapa Florestas, Brasil), Eve Nimmo (Investigadora Pos-doctora, Universidad Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Brasil), Anita Diederichsen (Líder mundial de restauración del paisaje forestal /Coordinador de la FLR ACAI, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF))
Mediador: Eduardo Amazonas de Almeida (Doctor en Ciencias Biológicas, Productor agroecológico)
June 5, 2020 | 2020 World Environment Day Webinar
In this webinar our speakers explored why biodiversity and ecosystems management are important components for building sustainable food systems. The webinar features four researchers who work directly with communities engaged in food production practices that are centred on biodiverse ecosystems. Drawing on community-based research in Brazil, Southern Ontario, and the Northwest Territories, they spoke about the unique challenges facing food systems actors and how communities are using agroforestry and other ecological food production principles to guide their work. This was the first in a series of annual webinars hosted by the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity, and Sustainability Studies.
Speakers: Alison Blay-Palmer (UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies and Director of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems), Sebastien Goupil (Secretary General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO), Liette Vasseur (President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and UNESCO Chair on Community sustainability: from local to global), Andre Lacerda (Researcher at Embrapa Forestry), Eve Nimmo (Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History at Ponta Grossa State University), Andrew Spring (Associate Director of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and Lead Researcher for the Northern Food Systems Research Group)
Jan. 28, 2020.
Watch the launch remarks and presentation.
Wilfrid Laurier University Professor and Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems Director Alison Blay-Palmer has been named United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies. Led in Canada by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the prestigious UNESCO Chairs program promotes international inter-university cooperation in key priority areas for the agency.
The launch included the seminal presentation by Chairholder Alison Blay-Palmer and remarks from: Liette Vasseur, President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and UNESCO Chair on Community sustainability: from local to global; Sébastien Goupil, secretary-general of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO; Deborah MacLatchy, President and Vice-Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University; Jonathan Newman, Vice-President Research, Wilfrid Laurier University; Ann Fitz-Gerald, Director Balsillie School of International Affairs.