Green ERA-Hub Annual Socratic Dialogue Event - hosted by ILVO (Belgium)
On 12 May, ILVO hosted the final Annual Socratic Dialogue Event (ASDE) of the Green ERA-Hub (GEH), a European network fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in agri-food and biotechnology. The event took place in Ghent as part of a two-day programme organised by ILVO as consortium partner.
Under the theme “Shaping the future of food: a multi-actor journey towards a sustainable bioeconomy”, the ASDE brought together research funders, programme managers, policy makers, researchers and other relevant stakeholders from across Europe. The Socratic dialogue format ensured a highly interactive and participatory exchange, allowing participants to jointly reflect on priorities and identify opportunities to strengthen and further develop the GEH network, including its long-term sustainability and outreach.
A particular focus was placed on partners from Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. ILVO welcomed participants from Poland, Hungary, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, alongside consortium partners and stakeholders from Finland, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium. The Ambassador of Moldova and his advisor also attended the event.
The programme combined keynote input, interactive dialogue sessions and field visits. A keynote presentation introduced the EU Bioeconomy Strategy 2025 and its implications for the agri-food sector, followed by a panel discussion on opportunities for widening countries and on implementation perspectives in Flanders and at ILVO.
Participants also visited ILVO’s Food Pilot, a living lab for innovation in bioeconomy and food applications, which was highly appreciated as a concrete example of applied research, testing and co-creation.
Further exchanges took place in a fishbowl discussion format, focusing on the translation of EU bioeconomy policy into regional practice, ILVO’s research and innovation activities, knowledge transfer in agri-food systems, and Horizon Europe experiences shared by partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as funding perspectives from Italy.
An interactive workshop explored barriers and opportunities for strengthening transnational cooperation and fostering interactive innovation in Europe through EU-funded research.
On 13 May, consortium partners from AU and WUR organised a MasterClass workshop at the VAC in Ghent on “Assessing Impact at the science-policy-society interface”, further deepening discussions on impact assessment in European research collaboration.