First Mediterranean Conference

on

Food Supply and Distribution Systems in Urban Environments

Rome, July 6-7 2015

organized by the

SYstem Dynamics Italian Chapter

in cooperation with

“Sapienza” University of Rome

and the

System Dynamics Society

and with the technical support of the

Food and Agriculture organizations of the United Nations

GOALS

The goal of this conference is to bring together outstanding scholars in the field of complex systems and system dynamics (SD), especially from countries of the Mediterranean basin, who apply their research to the Food and Sustainability arenas and decision makers into a dialogue to find practical tools for the improvement of food systems.

The conference will have count with some of the most influential personalities in the area as key speakers and will host relevant policy makers and stakeholders. Additionally, participants will be able to improve their knowledge and skills on complex systems methodologies applied to the management food systems in our workshops.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This conference has the technical support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cross-cutting project Meeting Urban Food Needs(MUFN) whose aim is to support policy decisions by local government authorities to improve food systems in developing countries and those in transition.

The System Dynamics Italian Chapter and Direction of the Meeting Urban Food Needs” (MUFN) project from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) look forward finding useful tools to understand and manage food systems in current and future real-world scenarios. For this reason, they have launched two calls for papers:

Call for Papers 1-2014: Understanding complex food systems meeting urban food needs – methodological approaches and disciplinary contributions;
Call for Papers 3-2014: Complex-systems dynamics principles applied to food systems.

with the objective of finding the best methodologies developed for understanding, discussing and simulating food systems over time.

An outstanding scientific assembly of 15 Editorial Board Members with the support of 36 International Fellow Reviewers, have selected the best contributions. (see the Results of MUFN CFP1 and CFP3 here).

A selection of the best papers will be presented in the afternoon parallel sessions of this Conference!!!

Download flyer (pdf)

PROGRAM

Please find below the Schedule of the Conference, including Sessions’ types, covered topics and workshops. Such a Programme will be soon completed with all names of authors, keynote speakers, policy makers and moderators. As an anticipation on main scientists, key-speakers and other influential personalities on this subject attending the Conference, among them we can count:

– John Ingram, expert of Food Security and Member of the International Resources Panel from the United Nations;

– Vandana Shiva, scientist, activist and member of several international organizations (i.e.: World Future Council);

– Hans Herren, Head of the Millennium Institute, and

– George P. Richardson, Professor Emeritus at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University of Albany, and one of the best Systems Dynamicists of our times.

Plus we have had confirmation of the participation from some of the main relevant policy makers in Italy, Europe and the so called food cities (Quebec, Toronto, New York, etc.), as well as the CARITAS (http://www.caritasitaliana.it) and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Organization (IFRC.org).

Meeting urban food needs and Programme, selected papers, presentations and guide.

WORKSHOP DAY 1 – (July 6^th, 2015)

TIME	TOPICS
08.30-09.00	Conference Registration
09.00-09.30	Welcome Session
09.30-11.00	CONFERENCE OPENING – (moderated by: Stefano Armenia)
	Feeding the planet, feeding the cities – The EU scientific contribution to Expo Milano 2015 – Julia Beile
	Meeting Urban Food Needs – Olivio Argenti
	System Dynamics Italian Chapter (SYDIC) and System Dynamics Mediterranean Chapter presentation – Stefano Armenia
	Movie from the Food into Cities Project (copyright: FAO)
11.00-11.30	Coffee Break
11.30-13.00	PLENARY – Planetary issues and Food Systems meeting Urban Food Needs – (moderated by: Ugo Bardi)
	Food Systems and Global Environmental Change: adapting the two-way street – John Ingram
	Understanding the role of cities in modern societies: The land-use, food, energy, water, population nexus for sustainability – Mario Giampietro
	Global Food Security 2030: Assessing Trends with a view to guiding future EU policies – Albino Maggio
13.00-14.30	Lunch Break
14.30-15:30	PARALLEL SESSIONS – Best papers of Meeting Urban Food Needs project
	Food Systems and Social and Environmental Dimensions in an Uncertain World – (moderated by: Edoardo Mollona) Room A1 Selected papers: CFP3-06 Rethinking food security under risk of natural disasters: a new System Dynamics model for agriculture sustainability and political stability by Monasterolo, Irene with Mollona, Edoardo and Pasqualino, Roberto. Full paper. CFP3-15 Feeding the Future’s Cities: Challenges in an Uncertain World by Hummel, J. R., with Christiansen J. H., Martinez-Moyano I., Lewis L. P. and Schneider, J.L. Full paper. CFP1-01 A Case Study: How an urban produce company reduced waste to zero while providing environmental and social benefits to the community by Pucciarelli, Deanna with Lutocka, Scott. Full paper. CFP3-24 Visualizing the Energetic Sustainability of Global and National Agricultural and Food Systems: A brief presentation of the The Food Energy Flows Exploratory by Denes Csala.
	Analysis of market dynamics related topics – (moderated by: Domenico Dentoni) Room A2 Selected papers: CFP1-16 Market-level Effects of Firm-level Adaptation, Intermediation and Cost Heterogeneity in Networked Markets of Fresh Foods: A Case Study in Colombia by Garcìa-Dìaz, César with Mejìa, Gonzalo. Full paper. CFP3-05. Demonstrating Correspondence between Food Systems Models and Real-World Market Dynamics. by Huffaker, Ray with Canavari, Maurizio. Full paper. CFP3-13 Value network analysis of Malawian legume chains: Implications for institutional entrepreneurship by Dentoni, Domenico with Krussmann, Felix. Full paper.
15.30-16.00	Coffee Break
16.00-17.30	WORKSHOPS
	Urban food systems policy and planning – (facilitator: Lauren Baker and Erik Pruyt) Room A1
	Food Systems Vulnerability and Resilience: Group Model Building Session Part 1 – (facilitator: Birgit Kopainsky, Krystyna Stave & Nuno Videira) Room A2
17.30-19.00	PLENARY – Inclusive and Resilient Food Supply and Distribution Systems Meeting Urban Food Needs – (moderated by: Luca Gnan) Room A1 and A2
	Role of wholesale and retail markets within complex food systems and the implication of their development for urban planning – Donald Darnall
	Marketplaces as Urban Development Strategies – Janssens Freek
	Sustaining the Ecological and Social Foundations of our Food Systems – Vandana Shiva
21.00	Social Dinner: click here for more information on the dinner venue and how to get there

WORKSHOP DAY 2 – (July 7^th, 2015)

TIME	TOPICS
8.30-9:00	Announcements
09.00-10.30	PLENARY – Complex systems approaches to manage Food Systems Meeting Urban Food Needs – (moderated by: Erik Pruyt)
	Powerful Model-Based Policy Studies: What Generates Impact? – George P. Richardson
	Integrated modelling concepts and tools to facilitate transitions towards sustainable food systems – Nuno Videira
	Science for integrated planning: Threshold21 model’s insights to meet urban food needs – Hans Herren
10.30-11.00	Coffee Break
11.00-12.30	PLENARY – Cities and Policies for better FSDS Meeting Urban Food Needs – (moderated by: Olivio Argenti)
	Equitable and resilient food systems in metropolitan areas – Barbara Turk
	Feeding Cities : Strategies for Sustainable Urban Food Systems – Vincent Galarneau
	Resilient Food Systems from the Ground Up: The City of Toronto’s Approach to Food Policy Development – Lauren Baker
12.30-14.00	Lunch Break
14.00-15:00	PARALLEL SESSIONS – Selection of best papers from the recent MUFN Project’s CFPs
	Conceptual change for food policy – (moderated by: Wilma Waterlander) Selected papers: CFP3-21 Insights from Open Systems for Food Policy Innovation by Martorell, Hugo. Full paper. CFP1-07 A Healthier Food Future: Developing Effective Sustainable Food System Interventions by Waterlander, Wilma E with Cliona Ni Mhurchu, Helen Eyles, Stefanie Vandevijvere, Cristina Cleghorn, Peter Scarborough, Boyd Swinburn and Jaap Seidell. Full paper. CFP1-20 Food system analysis versus Value chain analysis: a conceptual approach of “meeting urban food needs” by Veronez de Sousa, Leonardo. Full paper. CFP1-08 Methodological approaches connecting the food system to the urban nutrition transition: Fresh food retailing in Thailand by Banwell, Cathywith Jane Dixon, Matthew Kelly, Samang Seubsman, and Vasoontara Yiengprugsuwan, Wimalin Rimpeekool and Adrian Sleigh. Full paper.
	System Dynamics and Urban Issue for perspectives’ innovations in Food Systems – (moderated by: Alberto Atzori) Selected papers: CFP3-01 Alternative Food Networks in urban contexts: a system dynamics approach by (moderated by: Menegat, Stefano. Full paper. CFP3-19 From response to resilience: the role of system dynamics approaches in analyzing and developing value chains from urban and peri-urban agriculture by Rich, Karl M. with Rich, Magda and Hamza, Kanar. Full paper. CFP3-18 Understanding Food Supply and Distribution Systems Dynamics by Armendariz, Vanessa with Atzori, Alberto and Armenia, Stefano. Full paper. CFP3-07 Competing agricultural paradigms to meet urban and rural food needs in Senegal – An Integrated System Approach by Zuellich, Gunda with Kaveh Dianati, Steve Arquitt and Matteo Pedercini. Full paper.
15.00-16.30	WORKSHOPS
15.00-16.30	Food Systems Vulnerability and Resilience: Group Model Building Session Part 2 – (facilitator: Birgit Kopainsky, Krystyna Stave & Nuno Videira) Room A2
16.30-17.00	Coffee Break
17.00-18.00	BUSINESS MEETINGS
	System Dynamics Society: Mediterranean Chapter Room A1
	Preparation for the Expert Meeting in FAO (July 8th, 2015) Room A2
18.00-19.30	CONFERENCE CLOSING
	Remarks on behalf of the World Food Program of the United Nations – Adele Rossetti
	Round-Table with policy makers “Where Science meets Practice”- Marta Leonori from Rome Comune, Stefania Amato from Milan Comune, Barbara Turk from New York, Lauren Baker from Toronto, On. Roberto Formigoni, On. Maria Chiara Gadda, On. Massimo Mucchetti, and Donald Darnall – (moderated by: Marco Ludovico)
	Awards & Closing message – Stefano Armenia

ORGANIZING TEAM

Olivio Argenti

Conference Chair

Stefano Armenia

Program & Organizing Chair

Andrea Furlan

Conference Manager

"Sapienza" University

Workshop Host

Alberto Atzori

Organizing Team

Vanessa Armendariz

Organizing Team

Valerio Ciuffini

Organizing Team

Eleonora Piacenza

Organizing Team

PARTNERS

NOTE: If you are interested in becoming one of our Conference sponsors or partners, we are currently providing several sponsorship and partnership opportunities, as reported in the document available here.

WHERE

Map

Dipartimento di Odontostomatologia
Via Caserta, 6 – 00161 – Rome

Venue

Suggested Hotels

RESOURCES

Video

Production: Oscar Camargo – Technical supervision: Olivio Argenti
Agricultural Management, Marketing and Finance Service (AGSF) Agricultural Support Systems Division FAO – Rome
Script. Oscar Camargo F. Nadya Gonzalez A. Maritza Rodriguez R.