Teachers’ Advisory Board Annual Meeting, May 2024
On May 30th and 31st, 2024, after 6 months of working online, FoodEducators Teachers' Advisory Board gathered in person in Brussels. This event served as a mutual learning platform for a comprehensive exchange of experiences and ideas with a look to improve collaboration with our important stakeholders – teachers.
About FoodEducators
FoodEducators is an EIT Food programme that provides teachers with fun, creative and interesting activities to engage young people, mainly schoolchildren.
The easily accessible, science-based food education lesson plans and learning materials enhance students’ learning so they can become better informed, conscious consumers of the future.
FoodEducators programme was launched by EIT Food in 2022 under the name of „Youth Mission”. Work has started with needs assessment and the creation of two teacher handbooks full of ready-to-use resources to be used in the classroom.
The handbooks were piloted in five countries in 2022 including Cyprus, Czech Republic, Israel, Hungary, and Spain, reaching 382 teachers; and 39,354 students.
In 2023, we changed our handbooks into individually downloadable, online lesson plans and the website was created.
Covering the following themes : Food & Health, Food & Sustainability, Food Science & Food System, Agrifood Jobs & Careers.
In 2023 our lesson plans arrived to Poland, the UK and Turkey and in 2024, through EIT Food's RIS HUBs, we are reaching educators and students in more than 10 European countries.
May 2024, the FoodEducators Teachers' Advisory Board, had their first comprehensive exchange of experiences and ideas at the first in-person Teachers' Board meeting.
Day 1: Experience Sharing and Recommendations
The first day was dedicated to an in-depth teacher discussion about their hands-on experiences with the FoodEducators resources. Teachers shared valuable insights and practical experiences from implementing our lesson plans in their schools. These exchanges highlighted the diversity of approaches and the programme’s adaptability to various educational environments.
The teachers collectively presented thoughtful recommendations to refine the programme to align with diverse educational needs. They emphasized the importance of customizing the lesson plans to cater to different learning styles and classroom settings. Additionally, they shared their experiences with other educational programmes, which provided a broader context and informed their suggestions for improvement.
Cultural Enrichment: Visit to the House of European History
In the afternoon, the group visited the House of European History. This visit offered a chance to explore Europe’s rich cultural and historical context, providing inspiration and a deeper appreciation of the continent’s diverse heritage. The museum’s exhibits sparked exciting discussions and reflections among the teachers about what a pan-European educational project might mean to them and to their students.
Day 2: Engaging with the European Commission
We started the second day, with pivotal meetings at the European Commission. The Commission’s representatives delivered a comprehensive presentation on the current initiatives and efforts related to food literacy being pursued at the European level.
This session was particularly enlightening, as it connected the teachers’ grassroots efforts with broader policy and strategic frameworks.
The Commission’s presentation covered several key areas:
- Ongoing projects and research related to food literacy.
- Strategies for integrating food education into school curricula across Europe.
- Plans and potential collaborations with educational institutions and programmes like FoodEducators.
Future Actions of the Advisory Board
In the next few months the advisory board will be working in small groups to further deepen FoodEducators commitment to teachers:
- One group will be developing a needs survey that will be translated into 15 languages,
- Another group is thinking about creative ways to reach out to teachers on media platforms and
- The last group will be adding interactive content for younger children to our resource selection.
“Overall, the meeting in Brussels was an exceptionally productive and enriching experience. It fostered collaboration and mutual learning among the teachers while providing valuable insights on a European level. The shared experiences and recommendations inspire us all to continue engaging with teachers as valuable stakeholders in designing the future educational landscape ensuring it remains relevant and impactful in promoting food literacy.”