Food Sovereignty Convergence in Canberra 14-16 October!

September 30, 2018 by Tammi Jonas

This year’s Food Sovereignty Convergence is not to be missed!

We’re bringing the brilliant M Jahi Chappell out to talk about how Belo Horizonte nearly ended hunger through coordinated and targeted policy and grassroots reform, as well as some perspectives on what makes a successful food movement!

Thank you to our partners Open Food Network Australia & Right to Food Coalition for helping make Jahi’s visit possible!

Get your tickets now – everyone needs to be part of the movement if we ever hope to radically transform the food system! And please share widely to ensure the most democratic participation possible!

Viva la revolución!

For its fourth year running, the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) is proud to present the 2018 Food Sovereignty Convergence.

From farmers to consumer advocates, food right activists to innovators and everyone in between — this event is designed to create a space where anyone who sees themselves as being a part of Australia’s food sovereignty movement can come together to debate, collaborate, share, and strategize in the name of food sovereignty. This is your chance to participate in redesigning our broken food and agriculture system.

Food sovereignty asserts the right of peoples to nourishing and culturally appropriate food produced and distributed in ecologically sound and ethical ways, and their right to collectively determine their own food and agriculture systems.

BUY TICKETS NOW!

Notice of Annual General Meeting & National Committee Call For 2019 Nominations

September 25, 2018 by Food Sovereignty

AFSA Annual General Meeting

With the Annual General Meeting quickly approaching, we are writing this post to share with AFSA members the materials they’ll need to be prepared. We’ve already sent members notice of a special resolution to amend the AFSA constitution to make AFSA explicitly and constitutionally farmer led. We aim to of course remain a whole of food systems alliance – farmers and allies – but to put decision making around issues with a material impact on the growing movement of small-scale regenerative farmers in the hands of those farmers. We invite you to let your farming friends know they have a national voice for small-scale regenerative farmers and they should join us if they haven’t already!

This move mirrors the global food sovereignty movement, and we’ve developed the concept in collaboration with La Via Campesina and the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC). At this year’s Annual General Meeting on 16 of October 2018 we will be seeking to ratify the constitution, and hereby attach a draft for your consideration.

We need your input and opinions. Any amendments may be sent in advance to admin@afsa.org.au. All proposed amendments will be discussed and a final draft adopted at the AGM.

We also seek members’ feedback on the draft Budget and Terms of Reference for the Legal Defence Fund Steering Committee, which will also be adopted at the AGM.

Please find Dropbox links to:

1) Draft Amendments to Constitution
2) Draft Amendments to Terms of Reference for the Legal Defence Fund Steering Committee
3) Proposed 2019 Budget Draft
4) Budget Variance Report
5) Minutes from 2017 AGM
6) 2018 AGM Agenda
7) Proxy Vote Template
8) Policy Statements and Definitions Draft

If you have any trouble with the links above please email admin@afsa.org.auand we will send you an attachment.

For this year’s Convergence, we invite members to come prepared to share your thoughts on some of the key policy issues AFSA has been working on. Please share with us updates on your efforts in food policy and grassroots activism, and bring your thoughts for a policy debate on GM, labelling, and a sugar tax.

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance will be holding its Annual General Meeting on 16 October, during the Food Sovereignty Convergence in Canberra from 14-16 October 2018. Tickets are still available for purchase online through the Facebook page.

Call For Nominations To Office Bearer Positions

The AGM will also involve the election of office bearers and general members of the AFSA National Committee for the 2019 year. Nominations close on the 10th of October.

If you are interested in nominating for a position please email a short bio to us expressing your interest at: admin@afsa.org.au.

Please note that nominations for positions to the new National Committee must be endorsed by two members of AFSA. Please contact admin@afsa.org.au if you do not already know two AFSA members to endorse your nomination.

Details of the individuals who have nominated for the new Committee will be made available on the website prior to AGM.

Office Bearer Position Descriptions

Role of the President

Charged with providing leadership and direction to the Committee, the President is responsible for ensuring that the Committee fulfils its responsibilities for the governance and success of the organisation, and is responsible for providing direction to the staff of the organisation. The President is also the primary liaison with farmer-led international organisations working for food sovereignty such as La Via Campesina, and the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC). S/he communicates regularly with all members via the AFSA website and regular newsletter. The President is generally the spokesperson for the organisation and should work to maintain key relationships within and outside of the organisation. The President must be a farmer who is actively farming.

Role of the Vice President

The Vice President is responsible for assisting the President to fulfil his/her responsibilities for the governance and success of the organisation. S/he also works to optimise the relationship between the Committee, volunteers, and members, and to achieve the organisation’s agreed goals. The Vice President monitors memberships, and provides membership reports at each meeting of the Committee. S/he also leads membership drives and supports the Committee in developing strategies for growing and maintaining membership, and helps lead membership engagement through social media and a regular newsletter. The Vice President typically fills in for the President when s/he is on leave.

Role of the Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for the financial supervision of the organisation to allow the Committee to provide good governance of the organisation. The Treasurer’s tasks include the preparation of annual budgets, planning for the organisation’s financial future and monitoring the organisation’s revenue and expenditure. It is desirable that the treasurer is well organized and possesses a level of financial expertise.

Role of the Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for the documentation and communication of the activities of the Committee. The Secretary is the primary administration officer of the Committee and provides the links between the Committee, members and outside agencies. The Secretary should be a good communicator, maintain confidentiality on relevant matters and have the ability to delegate tasks and supervise others. The Secretary oversees the preparation of agendas and minutes, and all AFSA governance documents (constitution, regulations, policy), especially in advance of the AGM.

Role of the Communications Officer

The Communications Officer develops and implements effective internal and external communications strategies to maintain and build the reputation of AFSA with key publics including allied organisations, media, government and members. She/he supports the team with feedback on a range of communications pieces. A key element of the role is media relations, requiring the monitoring of news media to identify opportunities to attain media coverage (environmental scanning), and the production of media releases and rich content for the website and promotional materials. Assisting staff to effectively field inquiries from stakeholders including journalists, politicians, members, and the general public is an ongoing responsibility. The Communications Officer collaborates with the Administrative Assistant in planning, writing and distributing the electronic newsletter.

Role of the International Officer

The International Officer (IO) is responsible for maintaining connections with international food sovereignty organisations. Where there is a budget and it is appropriate, the IO attends meetings and conferences with groups such as the IPC and FAO thematic symposia, and is responsible for reporting back to the committee and members. In collaboration with AFSA staff and others on the Committee, the IO stays informed about global issues relating to food sovereignty and communicates these to members via newsletters and social media.

If you have any questions or concerns be sure to reach out to admin@afsa.org.au for more details.

MEDIA RELEASE: Annual Food Sovereignty Convergence to be held in Canberra October 23-24

October 16, 2017 by Courtney Young

Date of release: 16 October 2017

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) will host the annual Food Sovereignty Convergence in Canberra on the 23rd and 24th of October 2017 at the Burrungiri Cultural Centre.

The convergence will provide an opportunity for attendees to debate, share stories, analyse, strategise and plan towards building a fair food system for all Australians.

Held as an extension of Fair Food Week 2017, the Food Sovereignty Convergence will attract farmers, consumer advocates, right to food activists, urban agriculturalists, educators, communicators & innovators, and is open to anyone who sees themselves as part of Australia’s food sovereignty movement.

The Food Sovereignty Convergence is run as an ‘un-conference’, allowing sessions to be determined democratically on each day and to encourage participation from attendees, as well as broad and inclusive discussions around the measures needed to promote Fair Food.

Topics up for discussion this year include issues around genetically modified (GM) technologies in agriculture, the impact of regulation and planning schemes on small-scale farmers, hunger activism and the ‘right to food’, and food sovereignty at a global level.

In addition to the un-conference agenda, the closing of the first day of the convergence will see Bruce Pascoe discuss reconciliation of First People’s land management with the new movement of regenerative farming. Following this, a potluck dinner, for which separate tickets can be purchased, will be held on the Monday night at Canberra City Farm.

Penny Kothe of Caroola Farm, the Southern Harvest Association and AFSA Secretary, has said “Food Sovereignty should be important to all Australians. It represents one’s ability to choose who and where they buy their food from and in the case of farmers, to produce food that is a reflection of our deep understanding of how the land, animals and people are all interconnected.

The Food Sovereignty Movement and its allies advocate for size-appropriate legislation that is reflective of the true nature of small-scale, ethical farming operations. Coming together to discuss, plan and envision the ways in which we can strengthen the movement will allow farmers, eaters, legislators and everyone interested in Food Sovereignty to come together to connect over shared ideas and productive dialogue.”

This year, Bruce Pascoe is set to highlight the importance of events such as the Food Sovereignty Convergence in recognising the impact of First People’s land management practices, and how the future of farming could look if we work with the First Peoples of Australia to utilise their ‘grossly undervalued’ knowledge to improve farming systems in this country.

“Imagine re-educating the nation and utilising the two major crops of Aboriginal Australia: yams (as well as other root vegetables) and grains. All of these plants were domesticated by Aboriginal people and these are the plants which offer the most exciting prospects for farming today.”

Tickets for the 2017 Food Sovereignty Convergence can be purchased via the AFSA website or the Try Booking event page.

FOR INTERVIEW:

• Tammi Jonas, AFSA President M: 0422 429 362

INFORMATION:

• afsa.org.au

• Penny Kothe, AFSA Secretary E: admin@afsa.org.au

Join us in Canberra for the 2017 Food Sovereignty Convergence!

August 18, 2017 by Food Sovereignty

Join us in Canberra on the 23rd and 24th October 2017 for two days of debate, stories, analysis, sharing, strategising and planning, all in the cause of building a fair food system for all Australians! Farmers, consumer advocates, right to food activists, urban agriculturalists, educators, communicators, innovators – whoever you are, wherever you’re from – if you see yourself as part of Australia’s food sovereignty movement, this is for you!

The Food Sovereignty Convergence will begin on Monday with a discussion on indigenous food sovereignty and land sovereignty led by Ngambri man Shane Mortimer. We will then move into a discussion about the global food sovereignty movement led by AFSA President Tammi Jonas, who has recently returned from the VIIth International Conference of La Via Campesina (the international peasant farmers’ movement) and meetings of the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the UN.

The majority of Monday and Tuesday will be MC’d by Alex Bayley in unconference style – How does this work?

Early in the day, we will have an unconference scheduling period where people can propose sessions.

Proposed sessions will be scheduled using large post-it notes on the wall, and facilitators will help ensure that sessions have as little overlap or conflict as possible. Sometimes, two sessions may be combined together if the topics are similar.

At the end of the day, we’ll come back together for a closing session to gather feedback and talk about what we’ve gained from the day’s activities.

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday afternoon, details TBC.

Sunday night, we will gather at local restaurant A. Baker, sharing seasonal food and drinks and meeting with our hosts for the next few days. This is a self-funded dinner/drinks.

On Monday night, Convergence attendees will gather at Canberra City Farm for a potluck dinner. Tickets are also sold separately for this event. The evening will begin with a tour of Canberra City Farm followed by the main event:

Bruce Pascoe, author of the acclaimed Dark Emu, and regenerative farmer Tammi Jonas discussing ‘how we can reconcile indigenous land management with the new movement of farmers’ regenerative land management’.

2 days convergence (including potluck dinner) $110
2 days convergence (govt)(including potluck dinner) $160

Potluck dinner only $20

Lunch and refreshments will be provided for both days of the Convergence so please let us know if you have any dietary requirements via email at admin@afsa.org.au. You can also email us for information about interstate and local car pooling or if you’re interested in being billeted within the local community.

This event is not a fundraiser, however, you’re welcome to donate to the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance’s Legal Defence Fund when you purchase a ticket.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Book now!

23 and 24 Oct 2017

09:00 AM – 4:00 PM

LOCATION

Burringiri Culture Centre
245 Lady Denman Dr Canberra Central ACT 2602

CONTACT DETAILS

admin@afsa.org.au

Fair Food Week – in your backyard this October!

July 29, 2015 by Alana Mann

Food producers, eaters and community-based food organisations across Australia will celebrate Fair Food Week this year from October 16 to 25, led by the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA).

In 2015, the International Year of Soils, nationwide activities will have a strong focus on healthy and regenerative agriculture in both rural and urban areas, with community gardens playing a key role.

AFSA President Tammi Jonas announced this week that the Australian City Farms and Community Garden Network would be contributing its support to Fair Food Week 2015.

“Community gardeners are at the forefront of the connected food system – the Fair Food system – that millions of Australians want and are embracing” said Tammi.

“Fair Food is fundamentally about people connecting with where their food comes from. And one of the best ways of doing that is by growing or raising some of your own food.”

Many community gardens and city farms have taken part in Fair Food Week for the past two years with garden lunches, workshops, seed swaps and movie nights.

This year Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network (ACFCGN) President Jane Mowbray is urging even more members to participate.

“Community gardeners and city farmers form a large part of the Fair Food Movement across Australia. They enthusiastically choose to grow and eat fresh, local fruit, vegetables and herbs and are keen to share their skills, and knowledge, making many community gardens and city farms vital centres of community education.”

For Jane and other members of the ACFCGN Fair Food Week is a welcome opportunity to applaud those who are offering local, socially and environmentally just alternatives to unhealthy food produced through industrial methods.

“Ethical farmers and the markets and businesses that supply and use their sustainable products provide us all with more choice about the production of the food we eat.”

Established in 2013, Fair Food Week provides an opportunity for local communities in every state and territory to showcase how farmers, gardeners, chefs and community-based food enterprises are working hard to ensure access to fresh, local and affordable produce to all Australians.

Communities are encouraged to organise events according to local priorities. In previous years events have ranged from slow cooking and underground restaurants to free training in skills such as making sourdough bread and butchering.

AFSA President Tammi Jonas sees Fair Food Week 2015 as a “unique opportunity for the food movement to come together, recognise and celebrate each other and our many achievements”.

“And this year we look forward to working closely with the ACFCGN to make Fair Food Week 2015 a particularly outstanding success” she adds.

Media contact: AFSA President, Tammi Jonas, 0422 429 362, tammois@gmail.com

To promote your event contact: AFSA Communications Officer, Alana Mann, alana.mann@sydney.edu.au

Photo credit: © Russ Grayson www.pacific-edge.info
ACFCGN President Jane Mowbray and friend during national meeting of Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network in Adelaide, 2015.