Dear subscribers,

You may have noticed that something has changed from the cover image at the top of this newsletter: the collaboration between EU4ADVICE and COREnet makes another step forward, inaugurating a new newsletter format consisting of the merging of contributions from both projects. COREnet and EU4ADVICE are more than sister projects, they share resources and work towards common goals, including the creation of a European network of short food supply chain advisors, integrated into national AKIS. That is why a joint newsletter naturally arises as a useful and powerful solution for an effective communication of both projects’ updates and achievements.

The very first news to share, is the 3-days event co-organised by COREnet and EU4ADVICE from the 25th to the 27th of October in Belgium, both in Brussels and Leuven. On the 25th in Brussels, the event united representatives from 25 European-funded projects, digital food systems platforms, and EU project stakeholders, who recognized the importance of collaboration to establish advisory networks for transforming the EU food system. On the 26th and 27th of November, CORENET and EU4ADVICE held their General Assemblies in Leuven. On the 26th, both projects discussed progress, challenges, and next steps, and subsequently coordinated efforts to achieve common goals. On the last day, the projects visited producers and advisors, providing a unique opportunity to understand the link between SFSC advising and performance/impact. You can read more about this 3 days-event here!

“After the first year of activities on the project, we are all satisfied with the results obtained and the path we have undertaken, putting together the foundations that will take us in the right direction, in building the EU network of advisors on short food supply chain.” Says Fedele Colantuono, the COREnet project manager. “In this regard, all the project partners, in collaboration with the twin project EU4Advice, have done an intense mapping work to identify the possible advisors present in the various European countries. We can now count on an important number of advisors who have signed their interest in being part of the future European network. This result is also available on the COREnet project website, where it is possible to access an interactive map in which the registered advisors are listed country by country.” 

The COREnet project manager then concluded with an overview of the current focus and next project steps: “We are now in the planning phase of the next activities, including the identification of the Key National Contact Points, which will allow us to increase visibility and disseminate the results of the project also in other European countries, outside of those represented by the partners COREnet, the organization of field visits to discover new golden cases, as well as events that will promote networking and the increase of advisors in our network.”

Fedele Colantuono

COREnet Project Manager

University of Foggia