<< Background >>In front of severe and interconnected challenges ahead threatening our right to food and nutrition, international and regional spaces are holding dialogues to advance with policy frameworks for sustainable food systems (SFS) (e.g. UN Food Systems Summit, CFS Food Systems Guidelines, EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy, European Green Deal). These forums are also debating the creation of multi-level governance architecture, which enables the transition towards environmental, social and economic sustainability.The sustainability of our food systems can only progress through the interlinkages of healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet, leaving no one behind in this process and working towards inclusion. SFS should rely on a human rights-based approach that ensures the interconnected realization of the right to food and nutrition, with the right to a healthy environment, indigenous, peasants’ and rural workers’ rights, and the right to the city.This transformation entails a systemic approach in our thinking, eliminating the gap between urban and rural areas, and working through multi-level governance for food democracy. Local food system initiatives are inspiring examples that promote this needed practice-sharing and reflexive learning, working alongside local authorities as the closest spaces of democracy for citizens.A significant number of pioneering initiatives promoting the transformation of food systems to a sustainable path have emerged as a result of participatory governance structures in place through local food policy councils or city-region food strategies. The rapid development of participatory structures and local policy-making for food can be partly attributed to the increasing role that these issues have at the international and European regional stage. The development of the 2015 Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and the clear role for local government change in Goal 11 of the SDGs have created a strong impetus for policy making and engagement at the local level. Yet, this tendency has also raised some concerns about the need to better understand local differences, and build methods according to the context for meaningful participation in democratic life. Concurrently, social innovation and experimentation from the bottom-up can fuel the overdue need to transform food systems at different levels, aligning actions at EU, national and local levels to address sustainability challenges. Building on innovative local initiatives which rely on participatory governance structures is key to enable sustainable rights-based food systems across different European contexts.<< Objectives >>Through engaging with diverse experiences across Europe, this project seeks to increase knowledge and capacity building for European civil-society organizations and local authorities across the rural-urban continuum of food systems, by generating innovative methodologies and tools, enhancing their engagement with democratic decision-making to accelerate the transition towards sustainable food systems and the realization of the Right to Food and Nutrition at multiple levels. Specific Objectives:1.Learning: Increase knowledge and understanding of different methodologies, practices, and policies enabling participatory governance at local level and more rights-based sustainable food systems through co-construction of knowledge with local authorities and civil-society organizations;2.Empowering: Expand and strengthen the capacities of civil-society organizations and social movements, to engage with local institutional bodies and policy frameworks and become catalyzers of food system transformation; 3.Connecting: Generate learning spaces for civil society organizations to analyze European regional strategies and policy spaces in order to foster alignment between local sustainable food systems processes and EU frameworks.To meet these objectives, the project will develop learning materials, including: 1.EU Rights-Based Local Sustainable Food System Atlas2.Toolkit for Building up Rights Based Sustainable Food Systems<< Implementation >>The main activities of the project focus on the development of learning materials that can support capacity building and knowledge exchange. However, there is also an important element of process embedded in each Result so that the learning materials produced in the project 1) reflect a participatory process; 2) relate to the needs of the target groups; and 3) diverse organizations have ownership over the results in order to ensure their use and uptake in other fora. This covers all three project objectives. The project will use the experience and expertise of the partners within their national context, including the networks, groups and public entities that they are engaged with, in order to inform the transnational project results. There will be substantial consultation involved in order to develop the learning materials envisioned in the project. Much of this consultation will happen informally- through existing relationships and processes, and thus does not require additional budgeted activities; the co-construction of knowledge embedded in the project – which has elements of consultation, exchange, and dissemination- are reflected in the project activities. The 3 planned learning events seek to create a space for learning and exchange on key issues featured in the learning materials, and the opportunity to learn more from each other as partners in the project, as well as diverse organizations and actors who have strong experience and expertise. In particular, the project consortium values ensuring space for the participation of groups and organizations representing people with lived experience in key areas and themes of the project: small-scale food producers and people experiencing poverty and social exclusion. The events seek to harness this diverse knowledge, while also innovating methodologies for training and analysis. They will focus on: 1) EU-level sustainable food system frameworks; 2) Food system policies; and 3) Participatory policy-making. Creating materials and training exercises based from experiences of groups and persons already engaging with local food systems policies offers an innovative approach to how we can better engage with rights-based sustainable food systems across Europe, as well as explore other important and interlinked areas such as climate, economy, and issues of food insecurity in Europe- which is an area that has been under-explored at national and EU level. In order to better engage with policy-making spaces at the local level, and create policies that meet the needs of persons who face challenges, it is necessary to build tools that can 1) better understand the current state of the art with regards to local policy making and policies for sustainable food systems, and learning from this, propose innovative and reflective solutions and methodologies for utilizing EU frameworks, engaging in policy making, and building up policies which support the transition to more rights-based sustainable local food systems.The partner organizations of this project have witnessed a widening gap in analyzing food system issues in Europe. While advancements have been made on issues of land and consumer awareness, and there are ongoing efforts to better understand food insecurity, the use of human rights frameworks and methodologies to support more equity and inclusion in the debates on sustainable food systems is almost non-existent across Europe. Engaging with diverse organizations and groups- from CSOs working on food as well as related issues, as well as local authorities, will reinforce all objectives and results.Multiplier events are planned in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal and Spain, and will take place throughout the final quarter of the project period, in order to create the opportunity for dissemination and use of the learning materials in various contexts within the partner organizations country/context of work.<< Results >>Linked to the objectives of the project, the main outcomes of the project include:1) Innovative tools and methodologies to understand sustainable food systems enabling a meaningful participation in food system policy processes at local level;2) Increased outreach and participation of diverse civil-society actors affected by the transformation of food systems in developing project results, and participation in learning activities;3) Strengthened analysis of how EU-level frameworks and policy spaces can be utilized to support rights-based food systems transformation at a local level.Through these outcomes, the project will contribute to develop analytical skills and systemic thinking for becoming catalyzers of rights-based food system transformation that align multiple levels. The different events and activities planned will facilitate the emergence of coalitions of interest for a European regional coordination among organizations working on local food systems transformation that incorporate a human rights-based approach.Secondly, it will generate transformative tools for increasing participation of civil-society organizations into policy making, as well as it will support local authorities to acquire an overview of local food policies and methodologies of participation that enable the inclusion of the most marginalized and excluded actors in the food system. Through the development of learning materials and events that deepen the knowledge of food-systems policy making at local level in different European contexts, the project outcomes and results will seek to replicate and expand successful experiences promoting Right to Food and aligning actions at local, national and regional level.The built capacity of a broad spectrum of offline and online learners through various means (training, multiplier events, and the availability of online tools) will improve the knowledge of food system policy processes, and greater and more meaningful participation in these processes at local level, as well as national and EU levels, therefore promoting social inclusion and civic engagement while creating a better understanding of how these spaces can also support EU policies and frameworks.The following project results are expected upon the project completion:1. EU Rights-based local Sustainable Food Systems Atlas: Mapping assessment of existing policies and participatory policy spaces for food systems issues at local level which will be published online using the Global Network of the Right to Food website.a. It includes human rights criteria developed by partners and that can be replicated beyond the project period, with special focus on Right to Food and Nutrition (RtFN) and Right to the City criteria, across the urban-rural continuumb. Mapping of local policies/spaces across six countries (online platform)c. EU food related policy frameworks derived from the Sustainable Food Systems legislation2. Toolkit to support meaningful engagement in local processes for food systems transformations:a. Regional Frameworks for rights-based sustainable food systemsb. Methodologies for local rights-based sustainable food-systems policy-makingc. Architecture of local rights-based sustainable food systems policiesd. Pedagogy/Methodologies for use/Workshop outline (to support use and dissemination)

Right to Food is not usually seen as an issue impacting Europe. However, estimates show that some 43 million people in the EU cannot meet their basic food needs and 120 million, 1/4 of EU’s population, are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Increased rates of poverty and inequality during the last decade, particularly after the economic crisis in 2008, have placed vulnerable groups at risk of food insecurity and social exclusion across Europe. Human rights instruments and participatory methodologies are increasingly being utilized by social movements to develop solutions which address root causes of hunger and ensure that needs of persons often left out of statistics and policy discourses are made visible. Objectives: This initiative seeks to utilize education and innovative methodologies to build capacity of European organizations working on issues related to hunger, food systems, and social diversity to address hunger, and promote human rights and social inclusion in their analysis, work, and advocacy: 1) Expand and strengthen the capacities of civil society organization to engage with institutional, legal, budgetary and policy frameworks at national and European levels;2) Create innovative tools and methodologies to support building capacity of organizations and other actors working in the fields of food systems and hunger on strategies, which increase social inclusion and align with the RtFN;3) Understand, and provide recommendations on how to better address issues of social diversity and hunger, using a RtFN methodology that will engage with these social and community differences, such as race, immigration status, gender, disability, and their intersectionalities. Target groups: It is important to bring together actors with knowledge on RtFN, hunger, and poverty across NGOs, social movements, and academia in order to innovate new methods for training organizations, movements and students/academia in creating assessments at national and regional level in order to better engage with policy process. Social groups that are most vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity as well as marginalization and social inclusion, and their representative organizations, are a key target group as well as participant in the project activities. The project seeks to reach at least 400 diverse adult learners in person; at least 100 adult learners through the online space and courses; and several diverse CSOs and institutions through a strong communications and dissemination plan within international, EU-level, and national platforms.The project activities will focus on the participatory creation of learning outputs on priority themes to the EU-region, including: 1) Legal and policy frameworks; 2) Responses to hunger; 3) Social inclusion; 4) Healthy environment and diets; 5) Participatory governance. Each output has a participatory approach, and will build into a digital toolkit (6), which includes a manual for utilizing these materials, methodologies, and pedagogical considerations when working with marginalized groups. Outputs and activities will utilize participatory and consultative methodologies, and depart from the national experiences of project partners to inform transnational outcomes. inked to the objectives of the project, the main results/outcomes of the project include: 1) Increased outreach and participation of diverse civil society actors, and representative groups of those facing social exclusion in analysis of hunger and social inclusion 2) Increased availability of knowledge and training materials on responses to hunger available in diverse languages and available open access online 3) Strengthened analysis of hunger and social inclusion at national and regional-EU levelsAs this project will focus on the creation of training and education materials, as well as creating the beginnings of a much longer process, thus some impacts are foreseen in the long-term, beyond the project period. Impact include:-Improved understanding of how to connect and collaborate better with government actors and public servants on issues of hunger, food insecurity, and food systems at all levels-Increased capacity of CSOs and other organizations to engaged in participatory, action-oriented approach to training and pedagogy for issues of food insecurity and hunger in Europe -Shift in analysis of human rights organizations, as well as CSOs working on hunger, poverty, and food systems to analyze hunger in Europe, as well as inform strategic engagement with new partners, and inform strategies of engagement in community interventions and regional policy processes -Increased awareness and use of strategies to increase social inclusion of marginalized persons and groups by policy makers, CSOs, and service providers in relation to issues impacting hunger and food security, and food systems at all levels.

Farmers and small operators are often in a weak position in the value chain. They lack bargaining power, face barriers to accessing markets, and struggle to achieve a fair income. At the same time, due to growing public awareness of the environmental crisis, and the rise of diet-related ill-health, many consumers want to conveniently access high quality, healthy and sustainable foods. In response, many innovative consumer-driven opportunities for farmers to access markets are now available. The aim of this project is to facilitate collaboration between farmers, consumers, local governments and other actors to scale up short agri-food chains which rebalance farmers’ position, create win-wins for producers and consumers and drive innovation in territorial food systems. It does this in five key ways. First, it develops a ‘living library’ of 32 emblematic good practice examples from 12 countries which demonstrate how farmers can access consumer-driven opportunities to improve their incomes and rebalance their position in food chains. Second, it delivers a knowledge-based suite of activities to support farmers and small operators to access information on consumer demand and improve their capacity to connect with consumers. Third, it provides new insights and guidance on the costs and margins for each link in the supply chain, demonstrating opportunities for improved incomes for farmers and small operators and reduced costs for intermediaries. Fourth, it designs a ‘farm-to-fork procurement toolkit’ for public authorities in order to improve sharing of experience and help them design appropriate tenders for healthy and fresh food supplied by small-scale producers and also to support farmers to know how to access these opportunities. Fifth, it maximises the impact of all the project’s activities through effective communication and dissemination including policy engagement in order to create a more enabling environment for collaborative agri-food chains.

The ecological and social unsustainability of our food systems is widely acknowledged by scientists, citizens and governments around the world. To address the challenge of sustainable transitions, agroecology is also increasingly recognised as a promising model and the territorial scale as an appropriate scale of analysis and action. ATTER will develop an interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral exchange program to help filling the lack of knowledge and methodology for scaling out agroecological transitions for territorial food systems. It will gather researchers and practitioners around cross-case studies work through secondments, trainings and workshops, relying on the specificities of the five countries under study (France, Italy, UK, Brazil and USA) and on the complementary expertise and skills of the 18 participating organisations (10 academic and 8 non-academic). We will manage the ATTER network as an action-research eco-system to boost the emergence and dissemination of knowledge, innovations and tools for the agrifood systems’ transitions. The specific objectives of ATTER are to i) build a portfolio of 15 regionally embedded case studies representing diverse agroecological transitions and trajectories and transform this portfolio into a lasting observatory; ii) based on this portfolio, elaborate a typology of transition pathways in diverse contexts; iii) develop evaluation approaches and tools aimed at integrating the different dimensions involved in agrifood transitions; iv) analyse the effects of policy instruments and facilitating approaches and define policy recommendations and context-sensitive methodological frameworks aimed at facilitating these transitions; v) develop a diversity of adapted training and exchange activities both for academics and practitioners, which will allow more than 100 staff members to develop new skills, discover new research environments and expand their career perspectives, as well as to consolidate a wider and lasting network.