Sustainability is one of those elusive words , that can never have a clear definition, yet, as we are challenged by its absence from our surroundings, the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, we get overwhelmed by the need to take action to stop or reverse those destructive trends. That is, in a way ow the meaning  of sustainability gets inculcated into what we want to create for the future.

Reversing the unsustainable trends in the food sector requires tools that we haven’t used before to give a meaning to the words we use. We need to learn how to be more sustainable, and this is how learning happens: Giving a meaning to words. For millennia, before writing became a thing for our  species, we used art to create meaning,. Long after  the invention of writing, art continues to convey complex ideas with such wholeness that words cannot substitute, but only complement. For this reason the Future Food Institute is teaming up with  the Lexicon of Sustainability lab to design our latest didactic offer: the Future Food Lexicon Lab to prepare a new generation of sustainability advocates who will bring stories from the field to life using art, and lexicon, and rewrite the food consumption and consumption narratives, together.

This multi-layered educational experience will take place in Reggio Emilia – right in the heart of the Italian Food Valley – from the 25th of September until the 15th of October.

The educational journey will  start with an intensive online and on site masterclass that will craft the vision of a more inclusive and regenerative food system., starting from the students’ homelands. Participants will learn to map their food systems, identify local food producers and their sustainable practices, then turn the findings into information artworks to share with the local communities and beyond. As the conclusion, students will present their works as an artworks exhibition that premieres at the upcoming AGRICULTURE G7 meeting in Bergamo, Italy.

The exhibition will then travel to Bologna, where the city will host the Bologna Award for Food & Sustainability. Students will make public presentations of their work and share their ideas with policy makers and a global audience.

The Future Food LEXICONlab represents a concrete interpretation of the work streams of the G7 Italian Presidency, with its core mission: “Building the Foundations of Renewed Trust”. The three main pillars of the program: Agricoltura, Alimentum and Ambiens are so intricately interwoven with the mission of the G7 Italian presidency. By the end of the course the students will have a rich and wide vision of these issues, with a special focus on sustainable local food systems.

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