The 2021 UN/Austria Symposium "Space Applications for Food Systems" will take place from 7 to 9 September in Graz and also online. This year's key topic is how space technologies support food systems and thus contribute to activities around the UN Food Systems Summit convened by the UN Secretary General.
This Summit is part of the Decade of Action to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, each of which depends to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.

1. The term "food systems" refers to the activities involved in producing, processing, transporting and consuming food. The Food Systems Summit will address the following five action areas: 
2. ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all 
3. shift to sustainable consumption patterns 
4. boost nature-positive production systems at scale to globally meet the needs while operating within planetary boundaries 
5. advance equitable livelihoods 
6. building resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stresses

The Summit will raise awareness that we all need to work together to change the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about food. It will bring together key players from science, business, policy, healthcare and academia, as well as farmers, indigenous people, youth organizations, consumer groups, environmental activists, and other key stakeholders. Independent Dialogues formally connect into the Summit process through an official feedback mechanism, proposing recommendations to achieve sustainable food systems.

Registration OPEN 

Deadline to propose abstracts for presentations: 31 May 2021 
Deadline to register for the event: 24 August 2021 

The event aims to bring together academia, scientists, entrepreneurs and many others to discuss and demonstrate how space data and applications support food systems. Users of space applications will present their experience and experts will discuss the role of space data and applications within the food value chain. Several different presentation formats will be used, showing best practices and live demonstrations of solutions and services available, notably for developing countries.

Specific policy discussions will enable exchange of experience and know-how on integration of space applications and tools into the domain of agriculture and food security. The overarching objective of the Symposium is to offer users an opportunity to explore tools, policies, and approaches that could be adopted in their respective regional, national or local context.

Find further information and details here.