From September 29 to October 5, 2025, Dr. Christelle Bou-Mitri, Associate Professor of Food Science at the Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU), was invited to participate in the Food Futures Connect forum organized by the Swedish Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, bringing back valuable opportunities for students and the wider community.
About Food Futures Connect
Food Futures Connect is a curated learning journey that brought together 20 leading entrepreneurs, innovators, and ecosystem enablers from seven MENA countries to accelerate sustainable food and agriculture solutions. The program was conducted in collaboration with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and forms part of Sweden’s regional development cooperation strategy with the MENA region, supporting green transition, economic empowerment, and sustainable trade.
The week coincided with Stockholm ImpACT Days, Sweden Foodtech’s Big Meet at Rosendal, Norrsken’s Startup Pitch Night, and the EAT Stockholm Food Forum, featuring a rich, holistic program:
- Big Meet at Rosendals Trädgård
Participants engaged in panel discussions on the future of food and solutions. The vibrant kick-off focused on resilience, public kitchens, biodiversity, and tech transfer—plus the renowned Test Kitchen showcasing novel ingredients and founders.
- Norrsken Startup Pitch Night
An evening of impact-driven startup pitches at Norrsken—Stockholm’s hub for purpose-led founders—offering direct exposure to investors and the city’s impact ecosystem. Startups showcased innovations such as precision fermentation, AI, big data, and double-state fermentation to reduce waste, CO₂ emissions, and climate impact.
- EAT Stockholm Food Forum and 2025 EAT-Lancet Launch
An invite-only gathering of up to 700 participants where the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025 unveiled updated, evidence-based guidance for healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. The update reinforced that shifting to plant-rich, culturally adaptable diets could prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths annually while significantly reducing food-system impacts.
Implications for FNHS and Our Partners
- Teaching and Training: FNHS will integrate insights from the Swedish Institute’s program into the BSc and MSc Food Safety and Quality Management courses, as well as the FQM 200 Food Security and Sustainability course, bringing new case studies on climate-smart production, circularity, and food-system justice to students.
- Research and Living Labs: The week fostered collaborations on regenerative practices, public-kitchen innovation, biodiversity indicators, and tech transfer that NDU can adapt with municipalities (e.g., safe street-food pilots) and SMEs.
- Policy and Community Impact: The EAT-Lancet update provided evidence-based targets for diet quality, emissions, and equity, informing local guidelines, food-procurement policies, and health outreach initiatives.
Dr. Bou-Mitri’s participation allowed her to connect with founders and researchers advancing regenerative agriculture, water recycling, food-waste valorization, and agri-tech solutions tailored to MENA needs. For students, this translates into new case studies, assignments, labs aligned with planetary health metrics, and access to pitching opportunities and mentorship pipelines.
References and Further Reading
Swedish Institute: SI Food Futures Connect (program overview, dates, and activities)
Sweden Foodtech: Big Meet @ Rosendals Trädgård (29–30 Sept 2025)
EAT Stockholm Food Forum 2025
The Lancet: EAT-Lancet Commission 2025
News coverage of the 2025 EAT-Lancet release – AP News
News coverage of the 2025 EAT-Lancet release – The Guardian