A mulitplier event organised by GAIA within the trAEce project
GAIA decided to celebrate and give visibility to the agroecological movement in Portugal, by launching the challenge among key actors involved in the first intellectual output of trAEce for the collective organisation of an Agroecological Spring — the PrimaverAE 2021 — from March 21st to May 1st 2021.
Agroecology is not a new fad. Its understanding and social role have evolved and differ according to the world view of the person describing it. For GAIA, agroecology is not only an end to be achieved with the establishment of an ecological agriculture mode, but also a means of determining the food sovereignty of peoples, enshrining their right of access to land, seeds and their influence on public policies that define the modes of production and access to food.
The PrimaverAE’s objective was to promote the meeting between agroecology practitioners, activists, researchers and enthusiasts, in order to stimulate critical debate on the status quo and pathways for the Agroecological transition in Portugal.
Based on our work on the trAEce project, in particular the situation analysis carried out the year before, we wanted to give visibility to good practical examples, understand the main challenges and support the strengthening of solidarity networks among supporters of this cause.
We thus created a space for debate where different expressions of agroecology in Portugal met and dialogued, addressing their practical, ethical, scientific, economic, social, political and cultural dimensions.
Approximately 400 people participated in the online and in-person events (due to lockdown conditions, in-person events could only be organised towards the end of PrimaverAE). Another 11,000 people viewed our content (videos and podcasts resulting from the events).
Useful links:
Programming, background to the event and to agroecology, and reporting of the PrimaverAE event: https://gaia.org.pt/primaverae-2021/
Social media for the event: https://www.facebook.com/PrimaverAE2021
Podcasts: https://www.mixcloud.com/PrimaverAE_2021/