Events

The Social Aspects of Agroecology – Education, Co-creation, Knowledge Sharing, and Communities of Change

5th May 2026, 13.00-14.00
Online upon registration

Agroecology is not just a sustainable farming practice—it is a transformative movement that integrates ecological, social, and cultural dimensions to build resilient communities and landscapes. This webinar will explore how education, co-creation, knowledge sharing, and communities of change can drive meaningful transitions toward resilient systems.

Our first speaker, Sarah Prosser will showcase the Irish bioregioning approach. Bioregioning is a highly aligned practice to support agroecological transitions and inclusion by rooting action in relationships and ecological reality on a landscape scale. It fosters a shared sense of belonging, enabling people to care for landscapes they feel part of, and makes environmental change visible and meaningful at the community level. This strengthens learning, responsibility, and adaptation and also encourages circular resource use within ecological limits and enables practical long-term thinking beyond short-term funding or election cycles. Throughout the presentation, we will address the processes behind landscape regeneration at scale, including how to build trust, gather multi-stakeholder groups, design supported pathways and the benefit of frameworks such as Commonland’s 4 Returns. It will also draw on Prosser’s experience from establishing a network of community incubators in Norway. The talk will then share some of the concrete outcomes from the Irish bioregioning approach: a new co-owned farm, new financial supports such as basic income and infrastructure grants, and older people’s engagement in local food systems.  Conclusions will summarise reflections on empowering communities to shape their own landscapes and livelihoods, and the fundamental link to, and role of, agroecology within this.

Our second speaker, Fanni Trendl will focus on Traditions and Transitions in Inclusive Community Development in Pécs, southern Hungary. The presentation will provide a concise overview of the inclusive pedagogical environment that has a long-standing tradition in the city. Within this context, Trendl`s primary focus is on socially disadvantaged Roma students. The presentation will argue that the principles embedded in the pedagogical curricula and practices are transferable and can be effectively adapted to community-based initiatives like the Living Lab in Téseny. By exploring how inclusive education can inspire broader community development, the talk will highlight the potential of agroecology to foster social cohesion, empowerment, and sustainable livelihoods.

 

About our speakers:

Sarah Prosser works as a weaver of social-ecological change and leads Bioregioning Ireland, ecoFABULAnds´ Living Lab in southern Ireland. Her work takes a 'cluster of watersheds' view of a lot of things: ambitiously asking how governance, finance and policies can be more coupled to an upstream-downstream framework, anchored in lived experiences and working at a size and scale that honours living systems. Sarah has a background in making social and solidarity economics happen, in human-rights film, geology, Norway and Scotland.

Fanni Trendl, who is leading a Roma Student Society in Pécs, Hungary, is an assistant professor at the Department of Romani Studies and Sociology of Education at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Pécs.  Since June 2022, she has been working as a staff member then as the Executive Director at the Romaversitas Foundation, coordinating the Budapest Roma Internship Program.  As an educator, her courses focus on the relationship between the educational system and society, the educational attainment of the Roma population, inclusion, and cooperative learning structure. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator of the ecoFABULAnds` Living Lab in southern Hungary, in Téseny, with a focus on inclusivity and participation in an agroecological setting. Fanni Trendl comes from a Roma descent and lives in Pécs.

Host of the event, Ina Säumel leads the Multifunctional Landscapes research group of IRI THESys at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, focusing on urban ecology, agroecology, and sustainable land use, with a particular interest in the interactions between cities and their surrounding rural areas. Säumel heads international projects, exploring nature-based solutions, edible city concepts, and agroecological transitions for resilient, biodiverse, and productive landscapes.

Program
Welcome & Introduction (5 min)
Presentations by the Speakers (10-15 min each)
Open Discussion and Q&A (25 min)

The event will be conducted in English and recorded (except for the open discussion).
You are welcome to contribute questions and comments in German or Hungarian as well.

Register now on Eventbrite.