* English only
Empower communities
On April 26, 2022 at 4 pm 10 young inquisitive minds from different disciplines and degrees, a mixed group of people and opinions, will gather at LABIOMISTA. United in their passion to explore how they can help build resilience in both society and ecosystems through the lens and language of art and food.
Inspired by the life and work of artist Koen Vanmechelen and fungiculturalist Chido Govera, in dialogue with students from Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Zimbabwe and challenged by a transdisciplinary team of scientists from UHasselt, they will spend 4 days to define and develop the beginnings of Chapter Hope.
Art, food, science
Chapter Hope explores how we can empower and connect communities to build resilience in society and ecosystems, through the freedom of the arts, the discipline of science and the encounter with others. Starting point are real life challenges and opportunities in rural and urban Zimbabwean communities presented by social entrepreneur Chido Govera. 10 students in Belgium, 10 students in Zimbabwe and the unique setting of LABIOMISTA, complemented by the view of the artist and the perspective of a transdisciplinary team of scientists from the UHasselt. Together they will discuss and debate the development of resilience. How can integrated food systems positively influence women and children’s lives? How do we make integrated food systems mobile and sustainable? And how can they be used to impact health and nutrition, empowerment and development.
Inputs and experience from local communities will be paired and contrasted with expertise and perspectives on sustainable agriculture, capacity building & development, economic viability, food policy & independence, health and nutrition. Driven by the power of imagination, we challenge participants to rebel against traditional monistic classifications to create something uniquely different.
Mergers of people and ideas, of perspectives and opinions are the fuel that turns art into pivotal energy
Library of Collected Knowledge
The aim is to acquire new relevant insights for our common future, about how knowledge can be created, about how science, art and communities can feed and challenge each other, about how generations inspire and complement each other; about how existing systems can be supplemented by new models, about the ideas of the new generations, about hope.
The process, the transdisciplinary exchanges and the knowledge generated in this process will be included in the Library of Collected Knowledge (L.O.C.K.), a growing library, open to all. The contributions and ideas will also contribute directly to Chido Govera's Future of Hope Foundation in Zimbabwe.
Chido Govera
For more than 20 years, Chido Govera has been planting the seeds of inspiration and hope for younger generations. As an 11-year-old orphan, Chido was educated in the lore of food and flavor. She was taught to master the art of mycelium cultivation. This allowed her to provide for herself, her little brother, and her grandmother. On her path to becoming an internationally renowned mushroom cultivator, Chido was taken to a labyrinthian world with its own language. The world of mycelium. She learned that all organisms are connected to each other in a net-like, entangled fabric.
Witnessing the benefits of mushrooms was like magic! Agricultural waste was all I had at the end of every farming season. it was and still remains the most abundant resources in many poor farming communities, and even in our cities. Mushrooms convert this abundance into food and income in record time!
The Future of Hope Foundation
Over the years, she refined the art of mushroom farming and positively influenced the lives of thousands of women and orphans in various communities around the globe. She empowered them to be survivors instead of victims, not helpless recipients of aid but active vessels of opportunities fuelled by determination and hope. Since 2013, her Future of Hope Foundation in Zimbabwe has been training vulnerable members of society through entrepreneurial and self-development initiatives. Key elements are sustainable food, nutrition, food security, the power of imagination and an altered perspective. As Ursula Le Guin said: “To use the world well, to be able to stop wasting it and our time in it, we need to re-learn our being in it.
Participate
Who?
10 young people in Belgium and 10 young people in Zimbabwe (17 - 27 years old).
When?
From Tuesday 26 April at 4 pm until Saturday 30 April 2022 at 12 pm
We are aware Chapter Hope takes place during the academic year. We try to accommodate this as much as possible by planning most session in the afternoon and evening. At LABIOMISTA, there will also be a thinking box available to accommodate those students who need to follow online classes when on site. Check the overview for exact times.
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