LEAF announces first Public Engagement Conference in London
LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), organiser of Open Farm Sunday, is inviting the food and farming industry to come together for its first ever Public Engagement Conference.
The conference, which will take place on Monday 12th September at The Auditorium, Sainsbury’s, in London, will explore the theme: How can we make a step change in public engagement with food and farming?
LEAF recently released its strategic direction for the next five years and one of its key objectives is to lead a collaborative approach within the industry for better public engagement with farming, something it already does very successfully through Open Farm Sunday.
Now the organisation, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, hopes this conference will help pave the way in developing new and innovative strategies, that will bring people closer to how their food is produced, where it comes from and critically, why this matters.
Speakers at the conference will include:
• Jon Alexander, Founding Partner at the New Citizenship Project
• Fran Barnes, Director of Communications, National Farmers’ Union
• Caroline Drummond MBE, Chief Executive, LEAF
• Chris Manley, Agriculture Manager for Poultry, Sainsbury’s
• Patrick Middleton, Head of Engagement, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• Ian Pigott OBE, Chairman, Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) and LEAF Demonstration Farmer
• Michael Winter OBE, Professor of Land Economy and Society, University of Exeter
The conference will also review a number of projects that are already proving successful in bringing consumers of all ages closer to farming, including LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday and Farming and Countryside Education’s (FACE) Countryside Classroom.
Workshops will address a range of issues including food labels, teaching resources, outdoor learning and sustainability.
'Building public trust'
Caroline Drummond, LEAF Chief Executive said: "Building public trust and understanding in food and farming has always been one of LEAF’s core charitable objectives.
"At our Public Engagement Conference, we will be taking inspiration from the experts, both within farming but also from a range of sectors beyond our usual frame of reference, to see how different industries engage with their consumers.
"There are a number of tools and channels available to organisations and farmers to help reach consumers and engage with them about farming in new and exciting ways.
"It’s important that we use all avenues available to us, be that farm visits, community outreach or social media.
"We need to work together as an industry to deliver a broader approach to public engagement - one that recognises that our health and wellbeing, and that of the natural environment on which we rely."
