Dear friends and supporters of ARC2020July has been another busy month for the
ARC2020 network. A highlight for us were the two days we spent in Brussels. On July 12th we held a very productive planning meeting for the
Good Food March. From across Europe, national coordinators for the march came together to present their plans and share ideas for the next few months. With national level events now planned in cities such as
Bucharest, Lisbon, Naples, and Vienna, alongside the main bike tour to Brussels, the march is really beginning to take shape. If you want to organise an event, don’t hesitate to get in contact with your
national representative, and
let us know so we can add it to the Good Food March map!
The second event we attended on July 13th was held in the EU Commission. We were at the ‘CAP Towards 2020 – Taking Stock with Civil Society‘ conference, which included speakers from the ARC network: Goran Soster – Coordinator of the PREPARE Network, Jan Plagge, IFOAM EU Group and Robert Lukesch. Not only did we take part in the conference itself, we also made a bit of noise outside beforehand. Bright and early, with some of us dressed as cows, we gathered in front of the Charlemagne Building with Birdlife, EEB, Friends of the Earth Europe, IFOAM EU Group, Pesticide Action Network, Slow Food and WWF to ask those on their way into the conference, including the EU Agriculture Commissioner, to take part in a lucky dip to find out if Friday 13th would be a significant day for the CAP. You can read more about the action in media such as EurActiv and Europolitics.
The next time we plan to all be in Brussels is September 19th: the final day of the march. We are expecting 100s of people come together on this day to mark the end of the march and take place in different events. In the morning, a Good Food Brunch is being organised which will bring together marchers and MEPs. In the afternoon, a conference organised by ARC2020 and Slow Food is taking place in the EU Parliament. Registration is now open for the conference – register here today to secure your place! The 19th will also be the day we present photo albums to different EU representatives, filled with all the photos we receive for the Good Food March Photo Campaign. If you want to be in these albums, make sure you send us your photo message for the future of food and farming in Europe, and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do so too.
Let’s march!
Kate Mann
communication@arc2020.eu