The past few months have seen the FIT4FOOD2030 City Labs begin to take shape, with eight city-level workshops taking place so far.

Developing a vision of a desirable future food system for their communities featured prominently on the agenda. Having a compelling vision of a preferred future can be a powerful impetus and act as a first step in creating a powerful strategy for change.

A wide range of actors including representatives of citizen organisations, businesses and research organisations were invited to reflect on the current state of the food system and then to fast forward to the year 2030. Informed and inspired by the FOOD2030 vision, participants shared the characteristics of their desirable food system.

While not all characteristics were met with complete agreement, there was a shared commitment to understand other perspectives and reconcile viewpoints. Discussions also turned to what the City Lab do together for change and how to find a shared focus despite differences.

Potential "pathways to impact" identified thus far include:

• Educational programmes for children, students, parents, and hospitality professionals, with a practical focus
• A wide range of events such as mini-conferences, training programmes, innovation processes
• Re-establishing the connection between business and researchers and building a more active relationship overall with trade actors
• Not only tackling the big issues, but also inspiring and exciting citizens, conveying enjoyment around food
• Promoting existing best practices and sharing them with a much wider audience
• Bringing together and strengthening existing food initiatives
• Exploring power relations and making them more transparent

Activities will resume in the autumn with workshops and co-creation activities. It is not too late to join the communities developing in Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Milan Sofia and Tartu! Get in touch if you wish to be part of the adventure.