Category: Events

GeneBEcon project funded by the European Union focuses on circular bio-based systems through New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) and innovates climate-friendly solutions for agriculture and aquaculture, aligning with the European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan.

As part of the project’s event agenda and the continuous effort to bring solutions, GeneBEcon will organize its midterm symposium on February 20^th, 2024 at 09:30 – 15:00 CET located in BLUEPOINT, Blvd Auguste Reyers 80, 1030 Brussels, Belgium.

The symposium will offer the opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders and policymakers to exchange on the potential and desirability of using NGTs to develop more sustainable raw materials for the bio-based industry. The objective is to involve participants in conversations about project outcomes, regulatory context, and the dynamic interaction between innovation and consumer engagement, all within the expansive scope of the ever-changing bioeconomy landscape.

More information on the agenda can be found here.

GeneBEcon will conduct its 1^st RRI Workshop online on November 9^th 2023. The primary objectives of the RRI workshop series are to openly deliberate on the “Motivational Factors for NGTs and Framing an NGT Future” with the overarching goal of formulating an NGTs Transition Vision and Action Plan. The workshop aimed to initiate the co-creation process, working towards establishing this goal. The GeneBEcon RRI workshops are organised and facilitated by the GeneBEcon partner, XPRO Consulting Limited following its method of the RRI Roadmap ãä and in close collaboration with the GeneBEcon partner, EV ILVO.

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Events – Midterm Symposium – News&Events

The first peer-reviewed scientific article prepared by partners of the GeneBEcon consortium is published in Nature Plants. The article, “Options for regulating new genomic techniques for plants in the European Union” describes a range of options for regulating plants derived from New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in the European Union (EU) and assesses their respective impacts on biosafety data requirements, the likelihood of uptake and overall socio-economic implications.

 

What do NGTs mean for agriculture, aquaculture, food security and the bioeconomy?

➡️See event AGENDA

The EU-funded GeneBEcon project and the Cyprus University of Technology are organising the Science-Policy Symposium about New Genomic Techniques in Plants and Microalgae and their impact on agriculture, aquaculture, food security and bioeconomy. The Symposium will be held under the auspices of Cyprus` Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.

Who should attend: Governmental officials and policymakers from Cyprus, EU and neighbouring countries, food industry representatives, agriculture and aquaculture representatives, researchers, academics and students.

The event will:

• Illustrate how NGTs can contribute to food security and safety, the EU Green Deal, Farm to Fork Strategy, and Circular Bioeconomy goals.
• Inform policymakers, researchers, students, and agri-food stakeholders about NGT-derived plants’ potential to support agriculture and aquaculture pressing issues.
• Demonstrate regulatory options and their respective socio-economic impacts and illustrate how NGTs can enable Europe to achieve its goals.
• Highlight key developments in NGTs and their applications in improving plant disease resistance and plant product quality to eliminate chemical industrial processing.
• Showcase GeneBEcon research that is directly relevant to Cyprus’ potato and poultry sector
  • Virus-resistant potato with a more desirable starch profile, enabling less pesticide use in potato production and chemical-free extraction for the food industry Microalgae being used to produce high-value compounds and as poultry feed additive to improve gut health.

Relevance of NGTs for Cyprus: Cyprus has introduced several initiatives to boost its agriculture and NGTs could be one of them since its potato sector is one of the most important (40% of raw agricultural products) and 96% exports to the EU.

 

Click here to register.

Symposium Live Stream

 

 

The first GeneBEcon project’s workshop, the Systems Approach Workshop, will take place on the 1^st of March, 2023 at the Hendrik CONSCIENCE building of the Flemish Government in Brussels, Belgium.

The goal of this workshop is to build a systems map for the two production systems (potato and microalgae), as well as to assess the benefits and risks of the new genomic techniques (NGT) interventions using the systems map under different governance options.

The event will have 32 invited participants with diverse expertise, including experts in the values chains, scientific experts in gene editing, environmental and human health experts, consumer and farmer representatives, who will contribute to bringing together different perspectives, to get a more holistic view into the effects of applying NGTs to the two production systems.

The workshop will begin with a brief introduction, followed by a draft of the systems map. For this activity the participants will be divided in two groups, one representing the potato case study, and the other one the microalgae systems. In the afternoon session, the two groups will assess the benefits and risks of NGTs interventions under different governance options.