In the heart of the Cilento National Park, a select group of young researchers, activists, and communicators is preparing to embark on a unique learning experience: the FoodSystem 5.0 Summer School, taking place from September 3rd to 5th, 2025, across Sessa Cilento and other villages that have become symbols of Mediterranean agroecology.
The Summer School is developed under the scientific direction of Rural Hack, as part of the “Il Borgo dei Mulini” project, promoted by the Municipality of Sessa Cilento in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture. It’s a context where territory, research, and community come together to make education a true engine for transformation.
This School is not just a course: it’s a journey into the complexity of our time — a time when food systems require new ways of being understood, beyond linear and sectorial narratives, towards a systemic, ecological, and cultural vision.
No Transition Without Imagination
“Cultivating complexity” means recognizing that food is not just a commodity or source of nourishment, but also a matter of relationships, landscape, memory, technology, economy, and care. The contemporary food system is a living organism, made of deep interconnections between environment, health, culture, and community.
Leading this journey will be Alex Giordano, one of the foremost experts in social and digital innovation applied to agroecology, together with Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, Director of the Agrihouse Foundation and a prominent voice for inclusive rural development across the African continent. Two different yet complementary visions coming together to shape a community capable of imagining desirable futures.
Communicating Transition Is an Act of Care
If the first step is to decode complexity, the second is to learn how to narrate it. Ecological transition is not just a technical matter — it is, above all, a cultural one.
That’s why the Summer School devotes significant attention to the narrative tools of FoodSystem 5.0: transformative storytelling, visual approaches, and accessible, engaging languages capable of nurturing new imaginaries.
To communicate transition does not mean to persuade, but to inspire. It is not about marketing — it is about care: care for the words, images, and symbols through which we construct meaning around food and the future. A form of communication that is rooted in place, yet open to the world.
An Invitation to Cultivate Together
The FoodSystem 5.0 Summer School does not offer ready-made answers, but tools, visions, and connections for those who wish to cultivate—intelligently and passionately—the transition toward more equitable, resilient, and meaningful food systems.
Complexity should not be simplified. It should be embraced, narrated, and cultivated. Together.
Apply now for a full scholarship (including accommodation and meals).
Source : Rural Huck
