Newsletter June 2023

Projects are like seeds sown in a field

Projects are like seeds sown in a field – they take time to germinate and mature. And once that happens, the much-anticipated harvest can be enjoyed. The Food Experience Centre is still in the germination stage, waiting to rise up from the soil and grow to the point when we can reap the harvest of our work – throwing open the doors to the centre as a source of knowledge and inspiration for visitors about the circular flows of our food.

Knowledge through stories

Within the project, the content of the Experience Centre is beginning to take shape – an exhibition designer has been engaged to create a few preliminary ideas for the experiences that people will encounter in the Centre. The content will focus on four areas or “stories”:

• Food’s natural ecocycle – from farm to fork
  
• Cool tech that farmers use – smart systems
  
• Body, mind and money – how they are connected
  
• Time for change – how we become more self-sufficient

Spring activities

At the end of May, the project team met with staff from the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF), representing the Östergötland, Gotland, Örebro and Södermanland
regions, to report on the progress of the Experience Centre and discuss some shared practical questions. In that same week, the working group for Väderstad met to discuss
progress on the project actually in Väderstad. This working group includesrepresentatives of local associations, businesses and residents.

Meetings like these are important to us as a project team, because we want to connect with everyone who is interested in the development of the Experience Centre or has comments on the project. Please get in touch if anyone else wants us to come and explain more about the project.

It is important to learn from other tourist destinations in order to draw on the knowledge and expertise within the experience industry. One inspiring destination near us is the Visualization Centre in Norrköping, whose journey and business models are interesting to learn about. CEO Lisa Lindgren told us about the history and present situation of the Visualization Centre, as well as her own experience in other related organisations – a hugely valuable exchange of knowledge!

Transnational exchanges

This year Cecilia Burenby, Chair of Mjölby’s Municipal Executive Board, has been made the Chair of SERN, a European network and incubator for cross-border collaboration. This platform for transnational projects within sustainable and inclusive social development offers further opportunities for the Experience Centre to establish
international exchanges and develop sustainable ideas going forward.

SERN Sweden Emilia Romagna Network:
SERN is one of the main transnational networks in Europe fostering relations between Northern and Southern Europe and in particular between Sweden and Italy where Italian and Swedish communities and their citizens are key drivers of change
towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and digitalised society.

www.sern.eu External link, opens in new window.

Welcome on board!

This spring, we had the pleasure of welcoming Toyota Material Handling Europe as a new collaborative partner. The company’s logistics products are a vital factor in the functionality of the food chain. Welcome to the project.

The project team for the Food Experience Centre wishes you all a wonderful summer and looks forward to reconnecting in the autumn!