Workshop IFSA 2012

Jeg er medarrangør af nedennævnte workshop på IFSA 2012 symposiet som afholdes på Aarhus universitet d.1 – 4. July 2012.

Der er åbent for registrering nu og du kan tilmelde dig via dette link http://ifsa2012.dk/

Family Farms as Educational Farms – Possibilities and Perspectives

In practice, numerous educational activities are implemented at family farms each year in each European country. They address children, young people and adults, encouraging an interest in environment, their region and the role of agriculture in their lives. Up to now, there has been little understanding about the relevance of farm education with regard to rural development and interactions between farming systems and the rest of society. Therefore, the purpose of this workshop is to understand and clarify the role of farm education in the light of the challenges facing European family farms. In the workshop, examples will be given on different forms and types of educational activities on farms, problems and benefits will be pointed out, relations between farm education and social farming will be emphasized and perspectives for both family farms and society will be described.

Presentations and discussions will examine the following specific issues:

• Farm education  and social farming – meanings and similarities
• The potential of farm education to strengthen rural identity and therefore to support a positive attitude in young people towards their future in rural areas
• Farm education as a way of giving young people occupational orientation in farming jobs
• Farm education and social farming as an additional source of income for family farms
• Closer relationships between producers and consumers through educational activities on farms
• Farm education and social farming as a means of reinforcing social inclusiveness between towns and the surrounding countryside
• Farm-school co-operations: kinds of partnerships, difficulties and benefits
• Impact of farm education in terms of sustainable development: effects on consumers knowledge, attitudes and behavior
• Development of identity through a connection to meaningful tasks in agriculture
• Farm experience as salutogenese
• Safety and accident prevention on educational farms

The workshop will be of special interest to farmers, people working at agricultural extension services, practitioners and researchers involved in farm education.

Workshop methods:
The workshop consists of two main elements: roundtable presentations and plenum discussion. Each roundtable has a 45 minute oral presentation with discussion, whereas each session includes two paper presentations of 10 minutes each, followed by 25 minutes of discussion and feedback. The two papers presented in a roundtable have to cover the same or a related topic. Ideally one paper refers more to practice, while the other deals with theory or research. Each roundtable is chaired by a moderator who is responsible for guiding the discussion and documenting central findings. When roundtable sessions close, findings from each roundtable will be transferred by the moderator to the plenum. In doing so, moderators use presentation boards as visual aids. In the final plenum discussion, findings can be completed and amended. This second workshop part comprises another 45 minutes. Roundtables are excellent venues for getting targeted feedback, engaging in in-depth discussions, and meeting colleagues with similar interests. Since they are not an appropriate format for more than 15 people, two or three roundtables can run concurrently in this workshop, if applicable.