The objective of Shared Learning Days is to provide Community Food Enterprises (CFEs) with an opportunity to get together to connect, converse and support one another through knowledge sharing. By uniting and collaborating to tackle shared challenges, CFEs can stand stronger, building their enterprises and strengthening the fair food sector as a whole. At this event we’re lucky enough to have some very special guests for parts of the day who will no doubt ignite some rich conversations:
- Robert Pekin from Food Connect, Brisbane (Also Open Food Foundation Board member).
- International Open Food Network instance founders Myriam (France), Lynn (UK), Theresa (Canada), Pao (Spain), Enrico (Spain)
Past Shared Learning Days have been attended by a diversity of CFEs, such as farmer’s markets, cooperatives, farmers and food justice charities, which gives attendees the chance to view fresh perspectives and learn from the experiences of others. Attendees have found the event to be a valuable and rare opportunity to step back from the day to day operations of their CFE, reflect on their progress and open their minds to new ideas and make plans for the future. This chance to meet others and realise the commonalities across the fair food sector, will also leave you with a feeling of connectedness to the broader movement.
The event will take place in an informal setting where attendees are encouraged to share their stories and the challenges and opportunities facing their community food enterprise, and to gain support and advice from others who have similar experiences and knowledge within their own CFE. The group will decide on the questions and challenges to be thrashed out in the morning, with the potential to hear from speakers who have experience or expertise in an area of interest. The afternoon session will provide an overview of the Open Food Network’s functionality, how it can be applied to different CFE models, with the opportunity for one-on-one assistance.
Morning Session
9:30am - 10.30am Introductions. Share what stage you are at and what challenges you are facing. Learn what others are up to.
10:30am- 12.30pm Workshopping challenges and questions posed by the group.
12:30-1:30 Hear from our International guests about the fair food context in their home countries, and the role Open Food Network is playing. These guest will stick around for lunch, and will also be presenting at the evening event.
Lunch
1:30-2:30 Lunch provided - continue the discussion.
Afternoon Session
2:30-4:00pm Introduction to Open Food Network and advanced features tour (depending on needs of participants). Examples of innovative models and strategies enabled by Open Food Network (depending on needs of participants).
4:00-5:00pm Time for individual Open Food Network setup assistance, and peer support.
To provide the most value to attendees we will tailor the agenda and content of the day to participants’ needs. When purchasing your ticket we’ll ask what ideas or challenges you would like to explore on the day, and we’ll do our best to cater to these requests.
We look forward to seeing your faces at what will surely be a spirited day of conversation, ideas and learning!
Notes from past Shared Learning Days can be found here - https://openfoodnetwork.org/au/learn/story/shared-learning-day/