Article by Monika Onyszkiewicz
In Warsaw, Poland, the National Museum is currently hosting an exhibition entitled Soil and Friends. In Wrocław, the local community is organising the third edition of the Bazar Bizarre, an event in which artists create various works, performances and installations inspired by soil, water or ecological debt, which was the theme of last year’s edition. The urban compost bin is a topic of discussion – some (the more conservative ones) are outraged, while others are inspired and encouraged to take action. Never before has the topic of food, ecological sensitivity and inter-species interdependence been as present as it is now. Of course, there is also another narrative – at the other end of the spectrum, denying the crisis and contradicting the data. But that is not worth talking about now.
It is worth appreciating the initiatives and cooperation of various institutions that are doing a lot of constructive work in the area of building food security, raising awareness of the delicate balance in the ecosystem, and the difficult position in which we humans find ourselves.
It was in such conditions that the “City for Food Congress”, organised on 5 June in Warsaw, was able to come to fruition. Several institutions joined forces and created an event where people from various backgrounds: local governments, non-governmental organisations, academic centres, discussed and shared activities that had been proven effective in their own areas.
In addition to sharing during panel discussions, there was also one very important concrete outcome: the Coalition for Food Sovereignty was established. This is an agreement between public institutions, social organisations, expert communities, agricultural producers and activists, united by a common vision of systemic transformation of the food system in Poland. Our mission is to support the creation and implementation of public policies – local, regional and national – that enable the development of resilient, sustainable and fair food systems based on partnerships between cities and rural areas, producers and consumers, institutions and communities.
Keep your fingers crossed for our activities. We need to make up for years of neglect, faith in profit and the paradigm of efficiency. We now want to pay tribute to compost, to have cities that are good to live in again and to know the face of the farmer. We don’t know yet how it will turn out, but the movement is already underway!
Bazar Bizarre:https://www.instagram.com/bazar.bazarbizarre/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/instytut-strategii-%C5%BCywno%C5%9Bciowych-grunt/
More about Coalition: https://miastadlazywnosci.pl/koalicja
