On 14^th of December 2020, the Food Bridge had a webinar for agrofood entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This webinar is an introduction to an agrofood entrepreneurship training  for Africans planned for 2021. The aim is to equip the participants with the resources  and knowledge they need to access premium markets.

In her opening remark, the founder of the Food Bridge informed the participants that the Food Bridge vzw is interested in supporting the work they do because it is not just relevant to the food security of the countries but also to the African Diasporas across the globe. However, she pointed out that producers need to have the right standards especially regarding food security and ethics to retain their niche in the African Diaspora food market.

This training will have 7 modules. The trainer Ms Veronica Rubio, a senior adviser at Vectra International Belgium while presenting the first  module - Leading your way, focused on motivating the participants to think as leaders in the sector, to build a brand that is recognizable and worthy of accessing premium markets. The training as planned will go from the micro perspective covering opportunity assessment, value proposition, story development to price and access management.

Using the organic food market as an example of potential premium markets, she noted that no African country is in the list of top 10 exporters of organic products to Europe. This lack access to the market can either be seen as a challenge or an opportunity. Furthermore using examples from countries such as China, India and Ecuador, she elucidates some of the factors that may have helped these countries become strong in this sector. Of importance is the need to have a recognizable brand supported by functioning infrastructure, good  narratives and cultural stories linked to the organic system of farming.

You can watch the video of this introductory session on our Youtube or Facebook pages.

The Humanitas project brings together women from different racial and cultural backgrounds to discuss the important circles of life through  food. Women play a very important role in families and communities. They mould the lives  of young children and  influence the type of adults they become. Thus engaging with them, will help create a positive reaction to the diversity of  ‘differences’ and ‘otherness’  we find in our society today.

Due to the Covid pandemic restrictions like many other organizations, we have to become innovative with the ways we work, to enable us achieve our goals. So to continue with what we believe to be a very unique project , we are inviting participants to virtual sessions of the project.

How does it work?

The project focuses on themes such as Love , Marriage, Child birth and Funerals. For each of the themes, we want participants to present a dish from their  food culture that is significant to the theme. For example what food says love in your culture or what food is used for weddings. We will like you to make a short video clip introducing yourself and the food(s) you are presenting. We will like a small sample of this dish in your video and will reimburse you for the cost on submission of receipts.

Once we receive your video we will invite you to a virtual session with other women, to discuss the theme and also use the food to illustrates that different communities share similar dynamic cultural values

Language

Sessions are grouped in different languages, so your presentation can be in Dutch, French or English

Conclusion

The Humanitas project is using food  as a tool to bring women together; to build bridges between people and communities. We believe there is no socio-cultural tool suitable for starting conversations across cultures like food. We hope the shared values will show we are more alike than we believe.

For any inquiries contact

info@thefoodbridge,org

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