Future Food Institute event: Emilia-Romagna Chapter meets Japanese delegation

The Future Food Institute (FFI), an international ecosystem founded in Bologna with deep local roots and a founding member of the NEB Local Chapter Emilia-Romagna, organized a meeting on February 20th with a delegation of 10 Japanese professionals at Scuderia Living Lab in Bologna.

Given the perfect thematic alignment and the importance of fostering local synergies, FFI involved actors from the NEB Local Chapter, sparking a dialogue on sustainable ecosystems, the role of intermediate actors and policies, connections between agriculture, food, landscape, and communities, and long-term value creation. In particular, Elisabetta Cavazza, NEB delegate for the Order of Architects of Reggio Emilia, spoke about initiatives such as RIGENERA, Lost Plants and Animals, and Placemaking Reggio Emilia, illustrating the integration between policies and communities. Matteo Vignoli, Professor at the University of Bologna and FFI co-founder, spoke on
open innovation and cooperative models; Sara Roversi, FFI President, presented Scuderia Living Lab as an experimentation space and FFI's role in multi-stakeholder collaboration. The experience was enriched by the Edible Connections Lunch, crafted by the Food Alchemist Lab team (FFI's innovation department): a seven-course journey where umami—a flavor linked to Japanese research but present in many culinary traditions—served as the thread weaving a narrative uniting diverse cultures through the universal language of food.
In the afternoon, a visit to Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio framed Bologna as a historic crossroads of civic knowledge, followed by a talk on food systems innovation with Alessandro Fusco and Sandhya Kumar from FFI. The day concluded with an FFI-facilitated reflection to synthesize insights on cooperation and territorial value, lus an autonomous reflection session by the Japanese delegation featuring a presentation by Yukiko Hayashi of the Mac Caroni Cultural Gastronomic Association.
This meeting strengthens the NEB Local Chapter's role as a bridge between global innovation and local action, promoting collaborations for a sustainable future. The reflections born in Bologna will now travel to Japan, carrying new connections, questions, and perspectives to turn regeneration into concrete territorial practice.