FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN PALESTINE

Join Nasser Mashni, 3CR presenter & Vice President of APAN (the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network), as he hosts a global discussion on food sovereignty in Palestine. Coinciding with World Food Day, Saturday the 16th, this conversation will feature guests & voices from an international network of food justice champions & agencies.

THE CONVERSATION

Within the Gaza Strip, there are over 1000 women-led, small-scale agri-enterprises. These farms and agri-enterprises maintain seed banks of locally cultivated crops & produce a great diversity of foodstuffs - from fresh vegetables, fruit & herbts to poultry, livestock and traditional ingredients such as ajweh (date paste), maftool (hand rolled couscous), stevia sweetner, cheeses and pickles.

In May 2021, it is estimated that over half of these enterprises were either partially or completely destroyed in the conflict, overlaying already existing vulnerabilities and marginalisation of women agripreneurs in Gaza and highlighting the inequalities in their ability to resist the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

These women agripreneurs have shown an amazing resilience in challenging circumstances. An international network of agencies and individuals, including Sustain, GUPAP, Global Gardens of Peace, Just Food Collective and EcoCARE Pacific Trust, are working to provide these women farmers the resources they need to continue working towards achieving food security and food sovereignty for their communities.

TICKETS

Registration is necessary & tickets are free, but we'd encourage you to make a donation when checking yours out - your contribution will directly support these women farmers in Gaza.

MC

3CR Community Radio & AFP
Nasser Mashni | Presentor & Co-founder

The son of a Palestinian refugee, Nasser has spent his lifetime advocating for Palestine. He is the co-founder of Australians for Palestine, a founding and current board member of Olive Kids - the Australian Foundation for Palestinian Children - an Australian registered charity, Vice President of APAN – the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network and he is currently employed as the CEO of a private property development company.

GUESTS

Gaza Urban & Peri-urban Agriculture Platform
Ahmed Sourani | Co-Founder
Seham Almusaddar | Environmental Engineer & Volunteer

Lauched in 2013, GUPAP is a multi-stakeholder, interactive and participatory forum that brings together key actors involved in the development of a resilient Palestinian agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip. Co-founder Ahmed Sourani is a member of a number of national & regional agricultural development initiatives, and has shared his expertise as a speaker at multiple UN seminars, holding several advisory managerial positions in local and international organizations including Oxfam, ICRC & PARC. His expertise focuses on organizational development, policy change and networking for agricultural development, participatory learning and action research. Joining Ahmed is Seham Almusadda, a passionate water and environmental engineer who volunteers with GUPAP as a MEAL assistant.

Urban Women Agripreneurs Forum
Nirmeen Yaser Al-Athamna | Northern Governance Coordinator

An English language and teaching methods graduate, Nirmeen Yaser Al-Athamna is also the coordinator of the Northern Governorate of Gaza in the Urban Women Agripreneurs Forum and owner of Nistro, Agriculture and Food Processing Project.

Global Gardens of Peace
Andrew Laidlaw | President

An Australian charity founded by Moira Kelly in 2013, the aim of Global Gardens of Peace is to plan, design and deliver gardens to support vulnerable communities around the world. With the philosophy that ‘Gardens are Forever’ GGOP believe that living landscapes provide people with inspiration, healing and growth, and play an important role in rebuilding and uniting these communities. GGOP president Andrew Laidlaw has a reputation as "rockstar royalty of landscape architecture", with a portfolio including Landscape Architect of Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden and Guilfoyle's Volcano Project.

Sustain: The Australia Food Network
Dr Nick Rose | Executive Director

Dr Nick Rose is the National Coordinator of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, Food Systems Coordinator with the Food Alliance at Deakin University and executive Director of Sustain: the Australia Food Network. Sustain is a “think and do” network, specialising in designing and building sustainable & healthy food systems. Sustain works for the transition to a food system that supports flourishing communities, individuals and ecosystems, and gives people, councils, and organisations the tools they need to help them become empowered food citizens.

Beit e’shai
Rasha Tayeh| Nutritionist & Beit e'shai founder

Rasha is a Palestinian nutritionist, herbalist, artist and independent researcher exploring food sovereignty. She is the founder of Beit e’shai (“House of Tea” in Arabic) an online teahouse and apothecary that preserve Palestinian herbalism and traditional Arabic medicine practices. In her research and art practice she is interested in the space where art and health intersect, exploring food history and anthropology. Her work usually takes a documentarian approach combining photography, film, sound and installation practices. She draws on themes around health, culture, identity, feminism, spirituality and people’s place in society and the natural world.

Just Food Collective
Amy & Savannah| Founders

Just Food Collective is about empowering students to lead the path towards a sustainable and healthy food system, that tackles systemic inequities and promotes conviviality and collective transformation. From agriculture, social movement theory, health and wellbeing, and gastronomy the students of Just Food are not only knowledgeable but are incredibly passionate about creating a just food system. Just Food works with the students, staff and alumni of William Angliss Institute in the Faculty of Higher Education department but also has forged partnerships with various food organizations such as Sustain and our friends at GUPAP and UWAF.

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