On Friday 10/03/2023, the CAP4Clima4School educational seminar for teachers of primary and secondary education was held with great success (in hybrid form, combining webinar alongside a live presentation at Open Farm Agora, seated in the facilities of the Athens Fruit & Vegetables market

The aim of the seminar “Sustainable Agri-Food Practices” was to familiarize the school community with the relationship between agricultural production and nutrition/health, simplifying important concepts related to nutrition, health, the environment, all linked to the relevant European policies and the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for climate and sustainable agriculture.

In the seminar, particular emphasis was given to the relationship between agricultural production, nutrition, health and environment, in order to understand the importance of supporting an environment/climate friendly agriculture by shifting to responsible and conscious consumption.

During the training seminar the following presentations were made:

Ms. Dimitra Chouchorelou, Project Manager of GAIA EPICHEIREIN, after giving a brief presentation of the objectives and actions of the CAP4Clima programme, communicated the importance of the sustainability of food systems, as expressed through European Policies, such as the European Green Deal, the strategy “from farm to fork” and in particular the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and highlighted the contribution of the agricultural sector to this effort and the ways it is linked to the sustainability of agri-food systems and the effects of climate change.

Mr. Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Agronomist MSc, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the company Open Farm, referred to the Mediterranean diet as a sustainable agri-food model. He presented certified agri-food systems of environmentally positive food production (Products of Geographical Indication, Organic Farming, Integrated Management) and the ways they can be recognized “on the shelf”.

Later on, Ms. Vasso Giatsidou, Agronomist MSc, Founder of the Mindful Eating Hellas community, introduced us to new concepts and practices related to responsible & sustainable production and consumption (Conscious Nutrition, Food Locality, Seasonality, Food Miles, Food Waste) and presented examples of good practices in Greece.

After the end of the presentations, the CAP4Clima4School manual-guide was presented to all attendees.

Moreover, the participating teachers were invited to take part with the students of their schools in the following experiential CAP4Clima4School actions, namely the workshops/guided visits in the Athens Fruit & Vegetables Market.

The video recording of the seminar is available here, while all presentations are available here.