INTERNATIONAL EVENT

Bucharest International Gastro-Diplomacy (BIG-D) Fest, pilot edition

Marking the World Sustainable Gastronomy Day, and dedicated to both the specialized and the general public, BIG-D aims to provide a platform for facilitating multicultural dialogue, multi-stakeholder networking and exploring sustainable practices in areas relevant for social, cultural, political, economic and/or environmental aspects of the production and consumption of “food” at large (including also drinks and water in particular, as well as information and information technology).

An initiative of the University of Bucharest, through its Centre for International Cooperation and Development Studies (IDC), in partnership with European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), CONCORDIA Employers Confederation, Cărturești bookshops, Random Space and Grădina ArtHub, this pilot 5-day edition prepares the 2024 series of events, identifying priorities for debate and future projects in the field, with a focus on both the sustainability and instrumental aspects of "food" , while offering also a space for socializing and enjoying food (and drinks), as well as cultural productions and debates on connected themes.  

Topics of particular interest

• current global and local trends in gastro-diplomacy

• country branding in relation to food

• new local cuisines

• awareness raising on local providers of international cuisine 

• contemporary challenges and opportunities of the agribusiness  sector

• global and local food security

• dynamics and challenges of circular economy

• food and water as human rights  

• sustainability and quality rankings of food products and services 

• food fashions 

• food controversies

• communication and business opportunities for food influencers 

• visual art productions exploring food

• food in classic and contemporary literature

• public policies around food production and consumption

• food waste

• management and access to water resources

17-22 June 2023

BIG-D Literary tastes

@Cărturești Carusel (55, Lipscani st., https://goo.gl/maps/Cp752Fg8zMagrMRQ6) 

Every day at Cărturești Carusel bookshop find a shelf with recommended volumes selected exclusively for this event.

Saturday, 17 June 2023

BIG-D Stakeholders' forum launch

@Goethe Institute Bucharest (32, Calea Dorobanți, https://goo.gl/maps/zFF95Y1pcCWSSQKD9)

Event for registered participants only. Please register at https://forms.gle/k8ZZGq9cyEu5irBZ9 

14:00 - 14:30 Welcome refreshments

14:30 - 16:30 Roundtable 

Introductory remarks
Alexandra BOCȘE, State Adviser, Head of the Department of Climate and Sustainability, Presidential Administration of Romania

Representatives of governmental, civil society and business stakeholders, including embassies, cultural institutes, hospitality industry, agribusiness experts, as well as food writers are invited to exchange views about their needs and potential perspectives of development. 

This English-language roundtable will explore the following questions, from the perspective / experience of each type of stakeholder:

• which are the priorities related to "food" issues in the field in which you activate?

• what do you see as relevant to be promoted in relation to "food" issues from your perspective?

• what is the most relevant sustainability concern related to food in the field in which you activate?   

• how do you think these issues should be better promoted?

• what type of activity would be interesting for you within the following editions of BIG-D?

The event will also announce the calendar and the proposed stakeholder clusters for the organization of the 2024 edition.

Event facilitators:
Adelina DABU, Head of Public Affairs, Concordia Employers Confederation
Luciana Alexandra GHICA, Director, Centre for International Cooperation and Development Studies (IDC), University of Bucharest

16:30 - 18:00 Cocktail  

Sunday, 18 June 2023

BIG-D Socialising night

@Random Space (21, Popa Petre st., https://goo.gl/maps/BFFFHEjxP1z3N283A)

Discover one of the city’s hidden and most relaxing outdoor bars, for an evening of socialising and movie watching with other participants.


Monday, 19 June 2023

BIG-D / SCOPE Roundtable: Zero Waste

@Cărturești Modul, garden area (18-20, Academiei st., https://goo.gl/maps/1Nz56Wvf396tQ3GXA)

17:30

Introductory keynote
The Application of Food Waste Reduction Strategies in Restaurants: A Case Study
Aleksandra WALIŃSKA, POLAND

This English-language event is followed by a reception (by invitation only). If you wish to attend please contact us at idc@unibuc.ro

Tuesday, 20 June 2023

BIG-D movie night

@Grădina ArtHub (10, General Constantin Budișteanu st., https://goo.gl/maps/aatr2w493KuHW3gj9)

Access from 19:00 

19:30 Movie screening: Soul kitchen  (2009, Comedy, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1244668/)
“In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.”

Introduced by Joachim UMLAUF, Director, Goethe Institute Bucharest
Movie offered courtesy of Goethe Institute Bucharest.

Wedensday, 21 June 2023

BIG-D surprise movie night

@Grădina ArtHub (10, General Constantin Budișteanu st., https://goo.gl/maps/aatr2w493KuHW3gj9)

Access from 19:00 

19:30 Movie screening: Surprise screening proposed by the organizers.

Thursday , 22 June 2023

BIG-D Debate: The Right to Water

@Cărturești Verona (13-15 Pictor Arthur Verona st., https://goo.gl/maps/6yXYdPARzne6xXN77)

17:30  Roundtable (in Romanian)

The access, safety and availability of water are extremely relevant issues for an already large and continously growing number of people in the Global South, as well as, increasingly, in the Global North. Water is not only a natural resource but also a political and social space of encounter and competition, connecting aspects that address different levels, from the microcellular and regional to planetary. This roundtable will examine puzzles related to access to water in urban and peri-urban areas in the context of multiplying water crises and conflicts. Water understood as a limited resource, as infrastructure, but also as a form of exercising power, an essential instrument of governance, socialization or contestation, and which refers to the contested meanings of some concepts and practices in an urban context: the right to water as a redefinition of the idea of citizenship; the transformation of the role of the state in the regulation of public services; the articulation around water and access to water of the various constitutive dichotomies (private vs. public, state vs. individual, modern vs. premodern, healthy vs. sick, pure vs. impure, etc.); including water as part of the commons. The event will address the issue of access to water both from a comparative perspective, by examining urban spaces such as Bucharest, Galați, Sulina, New York, Barcelona, and from a historical perspective, to the extent that we can talk about a long term path dependency in relation to the options initial ones that establish part of the still existing components of the social, institutional or political relations that configure access to water in urban landscapes.

Contributors:
Constantin ARDELEANU, New Europe College
Liviu CHELCEA, University of Bucharest
Bogdan IANCU, National School of Political and Administrative Studies 
Lucia Alexandra POPARTAN, University of Girona
Marius URSAN, University of Bucharest

Facilitator:
Camil PÂRVU, University of Bucharest

This roundtable contributes to the larger global conversation on the sustainable use of water, including the UN Water Conference 2023 (https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/water2023)

BIG-D Fest is managed logistically with the support of volunteers enrolled in the professional English-language MA program International Public Affairs of the Faculuty of Political Science, University of Bucharest.