Como con ECO: Food System Resilience Labs

Published on February 16, 2022

In today's urban realities we want to create a community that will activate to protect the planet having food as a connector. We want to inspire and educate young people to understand food systems, identify the challenges associated to having a plate of food in their everyday lifestyles and build a bridge that will highlight the interdependence between education & innovation, nutrition and the environment.

Through Como con ECO we visibilize the benefits of positioning schools and universities as relevant actors in the construction of sustainable cities. Our portfolio of activities facilitate spaces that allow young people to empower themselves as agents of change understanding holistic ways of relating with our natural resources through a systemic approach were traditional knowledge and technological advances merge taking into account the necessities of each context.

In order to make this happen we generate networks between academia, government and civil society to understand their interconnected roles when promoting resilient food systems by working together.

Hence, our approach showcases the importance of strengthening education in order to promote global citizens that understand the relationship between food systems and their wellbeing in an interdisciplinary way while applying sustainable practices according to the challenges that arise in each context.

Our project connects, activates and generates awareness on how academic institutions can solve challenges associated with food systems. Leading transformations within cities to strengthen sustainable realities and to enhance young people as change makers capable of making this, the time to promote lifestyles that link our wellbeing and the wellbeing of the planet.

In Como con ECO we are educating youth and teachers by promoting awareness of the need to shift to more sustainable food systems in the cities. Through the implementation of the food labs we facilitate technical and innovative assistant to generate capacity in schools and universities to have sustainable practices. The tools and methodologies used with our beneficiaries will be open for the government and other stakeholders to replicate and escalate them. The leading organizations 2811 and Universidad Ean are building synergies with public and private actors in order to unite processes that are already taking place to promote sustainable food systems.

Our approach is to install capacities and educate people in schools and universities in order to shift towards sustainable and resiliente food systems. This is done by:

- Sensitizing young people in their role as agents of change to promote resilient food systems.

- Designing and applying online and offline instruments for sustainability education through experiences focused on problem solving.

- Addressing climate change through a systemic approach that incorporates the complex connections of the actors involved in the food system.
- Facilitating the incorporation of emerging technologies and innovation as educational tools that promote the development of solutions to environmental challenges generated within food systems.
- Creating a cross-cultural and intersectoral dialogue on climate change in urban areas.
- Closing the gap between rural and urban development through educational spaces that promote greater interconnection between both realities in Colombia.