Cross-exchange meeting on Networking
On the 19th November, coordinators from 10 different thematic networks met with representatives from EURAKNOS and two dedicated persons with skills within networking and communication, to exchange knowledge and experience on networking, including networking online in times when physical meetings are not possible.
Participants pointed to several arguments for networking such as to share ideas, learn from each other, exchange experiences, get inspired and built on personal ideas. Furthermore, to get to know other people’s interests, gather complementary skills, find a shared goal and feel connection.
Thus, it is about getting new connections as well as deepening connections and to use these connections to learn, share, inspire and maybe even co-create, which is based on finding common ground.
As organizer of an online event, it is important to create a form of trust and a more informal environment outside of the meeting. It could be starting the online meeting prior to the real meeting to allow informal talk between participants, to create breakout rooms where smaller groups of people can meet in breaks or after the meeting and encourage participants to use the chat function and the participants list.
Online meetings are an easy way to meet from all over the world and to save travel and reduce CO2 emissions. However, people may react differently towards digital tools, which may enlarge the gap between groups of people with different levels of digital skills. A few of the inputs from the meeting can be see here:
Cross-exchange workshop between two Thematic Networks: EUROSHEEP and EURAKNOS
On the 25th of November, the Cross-exchange (CE) workshop between two Thematic Networks: EUROSHEEP and EURAKNOS took place. The objectives were to engage discussions and exchange on the common issues related to dissemination (and communication) that a Thematic Network has to deal with to find efficient practical solutions.
This CE took the form of a series of interactive workshops. They explored together how to proceed to disseminate the TNs’ outputs successfully. Also, it was an opportunity to promote the explorer’s guide of EURAKNOS. Here are the mains elements participants understood thanks to the CE:
Cross Exchange: Short Food Supply Chain – 23rd of November
On the 23rd of November, an online cross exchange on short food supply chain (SFSC) was organized with about 50 attendees in Hungary. It was an interactive workshop with panel discussions featuring SFSC professionals and group activities. The first panel discussion was about lessons learnt in the SKIN thematic network, in the SOLINSA project (SKIN’s predecessor) and in the SMARTCHAIN multiactor project. This inspiring panel discussion was followed by group activities. Attendees in small teams mapped problems and solutions related to the current stage of five important requirements for successful adaptation of national and international good practices:
- circumspect planning before implementation,
- bridging legal & technical gaps,
- development of SFSC organizers’ competences,
- multilevel networks, and
- dedicated stakeholder bases.
The program was closed with an international panel discussion about development needs and possibilities. Vilma Xhakollari from the University of Bologna, team member of the multiactor project SMARTCHAIN shared her experiences as a dynamically developing SFSC innovation broker. Delegates from the Agroecological Research Institute and Association Kislépték (a national wide association of small-scale farmers) took part in the panel discussion.
