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Post-event report published one year after virtual convening bringing together more than 300 change-makers
Salzburg Global Seminar and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food have launched a new report on the cross-cutting imperatives for food systems transformation.
The report stems from a series of online events held by both organizations in 2020 that made up the Salzburg Process on the Climate Emergency and the Future of Food.
The Salzburg Process’s overarching objective was to connect communities at the nexus of food systems and climate change.
More than 300 change-makers took part in curated conversations and engaged with thought-provoking presentations. The Salzburg Process also created opportunities for knowledge exchange and informal interactions.
The report includes a joint letter from Ruth Richardson, executive director of the Global Alliance, and Clare Shine, former vice president and chief program officer of Salzburg.
In this letter, both say, “The Salzburg Process aimed to co-create a safe space for openness. A space where ideas, issues, tensions, convergences, and divergences related to food systems and climate change could be explored and discussed on equal terms. We recognized this was an ambitious task but hoped the process and confluence of diverse perspectives would help surface potential opportunities for collective action.
“Transformational change challenges the status quo and deep-rooted behaviors, practices, and societal norms. It is dynamic, it takes time, and it takes trust. It is neither straightforward nor linear, and so neither can be our plans and processes. As you will read in the following pages, we listened intently and humbly during and after the Salzburg Process, shifting our final objectives to better reflect the realities of bridging divides online during a pandemic.
“This Reflection and Learning Pathway is a synthesis of the Process, the discussions, the feedback, and our takeaways as the convenors. It shines a light on stones unturned, and we hope, in doing so, creates opportunities for further exploration and dialogue. We invite readers to use and amplify the content in line with their own missions, resources, and capacity.
“While the Salzburg Process and the Future of Food did not result in the Shared Action Framework we intended, it generated real benefits: deep conversations, the Global Alliance’s Seven Calls to Action, and an expanded community of individuals and organizations committed to the intersectional climate and food agendas. Speaking personally, the Salzburg Process has deeply informed the way our respective organizations approach these issues. We are deeply appreciative to everyone who took part and created these opportunities for growth and learning.”
To support the Salzburg Process, the Global Alliance and Salzburg Global commissioned five discussion papers on these “hot topics” central to the food-climate nexus: nature-based solutions, livestock production, sustainable and healthy diets, food loss and waste, and just transitions.