DATE & TIME
2 October 2025, 14:00 – 15:15
TRACKS
TRACK 1: Living Labs for Grand Societal Challenges
TRACK 3: LLs for Inclusive Soci(et)al Engagement
ROOM
Sala d’Actes
TARGET AUDIENCE
Policymakers and city representatives; Companies and entrepreneurs; Research and academics;Living Lab representatives and practitioners
TYPE OF SESSION
Topic debate
Description
This session will provide an overview of how local actions driven by Living Labs contribute to global food system transformation. By showcasing real-world examples, it will explore how multi-stakeholder collaboration, citizen engagement, and co-creation within Living Labs foster resilient, sustainable, and inclusive local agrifood systems. Special focus will be given to how these local innovations align with and inform global frameworks on climate resilience, food security, and sustainable development. The session will also highlight the role of European and international investments in supporting these transitions, emphasizing the importance of policy, research, and financial instruments in scaling impact. Through diverse contributions—from EU institutions to grassroots initiatives—the session will demonstrate how local Living Lab practices generate tangible outcomes and serve as powerful levers for systemic change at the global level.
Agenda
Timeslot |
Item |
Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 14:00 – 14:05 | Welcome and Introduction |
|
| 14:05 – 14:20 | Keynote |
|
| 14:20 – 15:10 | Panel Discussion moderated by Martina De Sole (ENoLL Director) |
|
| 15:10 – 15:15 | Wrap-up and Conclusions |
|
Speakers
Damiano Petruzzella
Scientific Administrator, CIHEAM Bari
Damiano Petruzzella
Scientific Administrator, CIHEAM BariDamiano is Scientific Administrator of CIHEAM BARI- International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, Coordinator of the Unit “Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem” dedicated to training, research and international cooperation on empowering the entrepreneurial culture of young people and supporting the open innovation processes of businesses in the mediterranean region. Responsible of the Mediterranean agrifood Innovation Hub and the MIP Network – Mediterranean Innovation Partnership with ten Mediterranean countries members, and MEDIL Living Lab for Mediterranean Rural development (ENoLL Certified) and from this year is chair of the ENoLL WG on agriculture and rural development. He is Scientific Coordinator of the Master in “Open Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship in the mediterranean agrifood sector“ in Bari and Tirana. He is component of the steering committee of Italian network on local food policies. He coordinates many international projects on food system transition, innovation and startups empowerment and local food policy, mainly in mediterranean region and Africa.
Rosalinda Scalia
Deputy Head of Unit, EC DG Research & Innovation, Unit Bioeconomy & Food Systems (B2), Healthy Planet Directorate
Rosalinda Scalia
Deputy Head of Unit, EC DG Research & Innovation, Unit Bioeconomy & Food Systems (B2), Healthy Planet DirectorateRosalinda Scalia is Deputy Head of Unit for “Bioeconomy and Food Systems” in the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. Previously, she worked for the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety as policy officer for plant health. Before moving to Brussels, Rosalinda worked for almost a decade as Food Inspector for the Italian Ministry for Agriculture and for one year under the Spanish Food Safety Agency. Her main role was to investigate frauds and irregularities in the food market. Rosalinda obtained a PhD in Environmental Agronomy from the University of Palermo and has been visiting scientist twice to the University of California, Davis and to the University of Alabama (US).
Francesca Volpe
Resilient Local Food Supply Chain Alliance
Francesca Volpe
Resilient Local Food Supply Chain AllianceFrancesca Volpe is the focal point of the Resilient Local Food Supply Chain Alliance, launched during the UN FSS in 2021, Rome. Her main activity is to gather experiences and knowledge on local food systems to be transformed towards more sustainable solutions validated by participatory processes (Living Labs). She is the secretary of the Italian Observatory of Local food policy and she manages projects to improve the quadruple helix stakeholders’ capacities to co-design integrated urban food policies to tackle the millennium challenges, even in the smallest territories. For 15 years, she worked as innovation manager at the Apulian regional food technology cluster providing support services to public-private partnerships to test and validate research results on agrifood, renewable energy, circular economy and biobased processes. As a political scientist, her view is to mix vertical and cross-cutting issues related to food that can support advocacy and change.
Chiara Roticiani
Project Coordinator, Eurocities
Chiara Roticiani
Project Coordinator, EurocitiesChiara Roticiani has over seven years of experience in the non-profit sector across several European countries and has been with Eurocities for more than five years. She is currently a project coordinator on the food team, where she focuses on the Horizon Europe project CLEVERFOOD. In this role, she facilitates a peer-learning programme for food policy labs and food policy councils, and coordinates the FOOD 2030 Connected Lab Network, with a strong focus on bridging local initiatives and policymaking to foster the transition towards inclusive, healthy, and sustainable food systems.
Saša Štraus
Senior Expert in Sustainable Food Systems & F2F Green Point Living Lab Manager
Saša Štraus
Senior Expert in Sustainable Food Systems & F2F Green Point Living Lab ManagerSaša Štraus holds a PhD in agriculture and has over 15 years of experience leading EU-funded projects focused on sustainable food systems, innovation, and rural development. She leads the Green Point Living Lab in the Pomurje region (Slovenia), a multi-actor ecosystem for agri-food innovation, co-creation, and stakeholder engagement. She works on bridging research and practice with a focus on resilient agri-food supply chains, inclusive governance models, and digital transformation across agri-food value chains.
Christine Hvitsand
Senior researcher PhD, Telemark Research Institute
Christine Hvitsand
Senior researcher PhD, Telemark Research InstituteChristine Hvitsand is a senior researcher at Telemark Research Institute, Research group Social and Ecological Sustainability, Norway. Hvitsand has a master’s degree in Economics and Resource Management and a PhD within Agroecology and agri-food sustainability transitions, both from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Hvitsand facilitates and analyses processes and outputs from agri-food living lab processes, including the FATE living lab. Often her research projects regarding food system changes take cross-sectorial and multi-actor approaches to address grand societal and interwoven challenges and opportunities.
Florian Senger-Weiss
Founder & Director, Orbolo
Florian Senger-Weiss
Founder & Director, OrboloFlorian founded ORBOLO to transform the relation of food systems to nature. Buzzword: regenerative agroecology. Inspired by farmers who deliberately shifted from conventional to nutrient-rich, life-supporting practices, he now scales these models through education hubs and farm projects in Paraguay and Brazil. He bridges ecological insight with technology, supported by partners like WWF and Fundación Paraguaya, and draws on experience from Daimler and IE University. His next step is to build investment vehicles that let impact investors back the farms of the future. When not transforming landscapes, he's skiing, riding, or exploring nature.