The first major event of the year 2023 for the FARMWELL project was the 3rd meeting of the ever-expanding European Thematic Network on 12 and 13 January in Budapest. The two-day professional programme was organised by AKI Institute of Agricultural Economics. The almost 60 participants were extremely diverse, both professionally and geographically. Practising farmers, professional organisations, research institutes and policy-makers from seven countries were represented at the event. The aim of the European Thematic Network is to ensure that the results obtained in the various phases of the FARMWELL project are shared with and fed back by a wide professional audience, thus raising the quality of the results and the effectiveness of their dissemination.
The first day of the programme was enriched by study tours on different themes. One site gave an insight into the functioning of a social farm, while another provided a practical example of sustainable community agriculture and the role of the LEADER Local Action Group in organising a short supply chain. The knowledge and impressions gained during these visits were incorporated into the expert discussions the following day. In the workshops of the second day, the thematic network participants discussed good practice social innovations selected by the project partners, mainly from the perspective of how to promote the widespread diffusion of social innovations and knowledge.
