Background

#FoodFuture Ideas Fest & Summer Party 2023

Event Location: Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels

The #FoodFuture Ideas Fest will run from 15:00-17:30 on Wednesday, 28 June, in the garden of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, just two minutes from the European Parliament (follow the signs from the museum entrance).

After the Ideas Fest, we’ll serve delectable food and drinks with live music at our Summer Party from 18:00-22:00.

Ideas Fest programme

14:30-15:00 Welcome and network
15:00-16:00 Session 1 – TED-style Talks
16:00-16:30 Networking break
16:30-17:30 Session 2 – more talks and a debate!
18:00-22:00 Summer Party

Speakers will deliver energetic TED-style talks lasting no more than 10 minutes each followed by a Q&A session.

Climate change stage

  • 15:00-15:15 Emeric Duchesne (Harmony Wheat Farmer, France) – Farming for nature
  • 15:15-15:30 Robin Sundaram (Responsible Sourcing Manager, Nestlé) – The journey to net zero milk
  • 15:30-15:45 Liam Wilby (Series Developer, BBC) – What are consumers thinking?
  • 15:45-16:00 Michel Scholte (Co-founder, True Price & Impact Institute) – Working out the true price of food

  • 16:30-16:45 Hajar Yagkoubi (Former UN Youth Representative & climate activist) – Bringing the Gen-Z revolution to the boardroom
  • 16:45-17:00 Carla Hillhorst (Chief R&D Officer, Unilever) – Unilever’s journey to net zero
  • 17:00-17:15 Marilda Dhaskali (EU Agriculture and Bioenergy Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe) – Time is running out for nature
  • 17:15-17:30 Ingrid Rydberg (Director Brussels Office, Swedish farmers association – LRF) – Sustainable agriculture is led by farmers
  • 17:30-17:45 Tom Brookes (CEO and founder, Global Strategic Communications Council) – The leaders making a difference

Circular economy stage

  • 15:00-15:15 Geneviève Pons (Director General and Vice President, Europe Jacques Delors) – From Rio to Brussels: Unlocking the Green Puzzle
  • 15:15-15:30 Mariana Nicolau (Project Manager, Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production) – Every consumer counts
  • 15:30-15:45 Maxime Vanderheyden (Co-Founder, Ecopoon) – Eat your spoon!
  • 15:45-16:00 Valerie Bruyninckx (Corporate Communication & PR Manager, Fost Plus) – Easy does it – the secret to Belgian recycling success

DEBATE: Circular solutions – scalability & profitability

  • 16:30-17:30 Paul Skehan (Senior Director, Corporate Affairs, PepsiCo) – Circular solutions: scalability & profitability
  • 16:30-17:30 Arthur ten Wolde (Executive Director, Ecopreneur) – Circular solutions: scalability & profitability

Nutrition stage

  • 15:00-15:15 Nicolas Gausseres (Vice President of Health, Danone) – A flexible food future
  • 15:15-15:30 Regina Maisevičiūtė-Haydon (Global Food & Drinks Analyst, MINTEL) – Health as a key value indicator for food and drink
  • 15:30-15:45 Tim Van De Gehuchte (Sales & Marketing Manager, Meurens Natural) – Natural food processing for nutritious food
  • 15:45-16:00 Andrea Bulbarello (Director, dsm-firmenich) – Just for you: personalised nutrition

  • 16:30-16:45 Petr Mensik (Senior EU Affairs Manager, EU Specialty Food Ingredients) – Ingredients for nutritious food
  • 16:45-17:00 Katy Askew (Managing Director, IFIS Publishing) – The science behind our diets
  • 17:00-17:15 Alexander Mohr (Executive Director, European Flavour Association) – Tasty & Sustainable #FoodFuture
  • 17:15-17:30 Bo Dohmen (Manager, Nutrition & Health, FoodDrinkEurope) – You, me and processed foods