Coexisting with the sea: Field notes from the ethnographic expedition "Life by the sea" Ilze Mileiko icon-clock 05 / 09 / 2024

Research assistant Ilze Mileiko shares her impressions about the ethnographic expedition “Life by the Sea” where, under the leadership of researcher Guntra Aistara, participants explored the coastal life of Northern Kurzeme and its traditions related to fishing, agriculture, and culinary heritage.

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Postdoctoral research opportunity at Baltic Studies Centre BSC icon-clock 23 / 08 / 2024

Baltic Studies Centre offers an opportunity to develop a post-doctoral research project in the social and environmental sciences as part of Latvian Council of Science’s 1st call for research applications under the 1.1.1.9. activity “Post-doctoral Research, open to both Latvian and foreign postdoctoral researchers. 

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Monitoring the monitor: Lay observations in the field Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča icon-clock 18 / 08 / 2024

BSC senior researcher Anda Adamsone-Fiskovica shares her personal reflections and experiences from the field during recent pollinator monitoring trips.

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Exploring bee fauna in Latvian grasslands Maja Raemakers icon-clock 02 / 07 / 2024

Maja Raemakers, an intern from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, offers her insights and reflections on studying wild pollinators in Latvia as part of the RestPoll project.

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Thriving through collaboration: Reflections from the PLUS Change project BSC icon-clock 20 / 06 / 2024

At the end of May, the Baltic Studies Centre participated in the first General Assembly of the PLUS Change Project in Brussels. Senior researcher Elina Dace shares her reflections on the significance of the event in promoting collaborative research and her experience leading a co-creative session on sustainable land use.

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BSC joins the Memorandum of Understanding to establish a biorefinery ecosystem in Latvia BSC icon-clock 19 / 06 / 2024

On 18 June, senior researcher Elina Dace joined representatives from 22 companies, state institutions, and research organisations in signing a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a new Biorefinery Ecosystem in Latvia, marking a significant step towards the development of a sustainable bioeconomy.

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Baltic Studies Centre researchers celebrate the upcoming conclusion of the COCOREADO project BSC icon-clock 28 / 05 / 2024

On 24 April, Baltic Studies Centre research assistant Ilze Mileiko and senior researcher Miķelis Grīviņš participated in the final conference of the COCOREADO project “Building a sustainable food future together" to share results with project partners, ambassadors and other conference participants.

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International conference "Promoting collaboration for a sustainable and circular bioeconomy" BSC icon-clock 27 / 03 / 2024

Register and join the final online conference of the CIRCLE project - an official side event of the World Circular Economy Forum - on April 10!

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Workshop 1 held in Practice Cases BSC icon-clock 01 / 03 / 2024

The PLUS Change workshops have begun in Practice Cases, starting with Three-Countries Park (Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands) and Kaigu Peatland (Latvia). This first round of workshops brings together relevant stakeholders to introduce the project and start discussions on key land use challenges in each of the Practice Case areas.

 

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Report of the year 2023 Talis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 02 / 01 / 2024

A retrospective summary of the activities of BSC pursued and accomplished in 2023.

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Launch of the project RestPoll BSC icon-clock 01 / 12 / 2023

RestPoll is a new project which aims to permanently restore and connect pollinator habitats in Europe. The project began in October 2023 and will run for 4 years. It aims to provide society with tools to reverse wild pollinator declines and to position Europe as a global leader in pollinator restoration.

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Meet Yuliia, ERASMUS+ Internee at the Baltic Studies Centre BSC icon-clock 16 / 11 / 2023

We are pleased to introduce Yuliia Hodnieva, an ERASMUS+ Internee who has recently joined the IN-HABIT project team at BSC after her academic journey from Nitra (Slovakia) to Riga.

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New researchers join the BSC team BSC icon-clock 10 / 09 / 2023

This year, the BSC team has been joined by two researchers - Dr.geogr. Maija Ušča and Dr.sc.ing. Elīna Dāce.

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Research position in an EU project on data economy in European food systems BSC icon-clock 15 / 11 / 2022

BSC is looking for PhD student or a PhD degree holder to be employed in the EU Horizon Europe project "Pathways towards a fair, inclusive and innovative Data Economy for Sustainable Food Systems" (Data4Food2030).

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Research position in an EU project on digital ecosystems in agriculture BSC icon-clock 11 / 11 / 2022

BSC is looking for a PhD student or a PhD degree holder to be employed in the EU Horizon Europe project "Maximising the CO-benefits of agricultural Digitalisation through conducive digital ECoSystems" (CODECS).

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BSC starts a new EU project on digitalisation – Data4Food2030 BSC icon-clock 06 / 10 / 2022

BSC starts a new Horizon Europe project on digitalisation – Data4Food2030 “Pathways towards a fair, inclusive and innovative Data Economy for Sustainable Food Systems”. The project kick-off meeting took place in Lisbon on 29th of September 2022.

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First CIRCLE face-to-face meeting in Riga Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 12 / 06 / 2022

On June 9-10, 2022, the CIRCLE project consortium met in Riga for the first face-to-face meeting to discuss the ongoing research and plan the next steps. 

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In-Habit in the renovated Āgenskalns market Sandra Šūmane icon-clock 16 / 05 / 2022

At the beginning of May, the In-Habit project held a meeting at the reopened renovated Āgenskalns market in Riga.

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ESRS2022 congress satellite event on circular bioeconomy in Riga: Call for papers BSC icon-clock 16 / 03 / 2022

In cooperation with the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) the Baltic Studies Centre organises an ESRS2022 congress online satellite event "Rethinking circularity: an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral perspective on circular practices in bioeconomy” on June 21-22, 2022.

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Welcoming address by Talis Tisenkopfs at the first online meeting with the COCOREADO ambassadors Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 20 / 01 / 2022

The EU-funded COCOREADO project launches a European training network of 40 ambassadors of fair and novel food chains. The ambassadors will be trained and supported in their innovative ideas and initiatives. The ambassadors’ training programme is coordinated by the Baltic Studies Centre.

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Autumn school-hackathon “Collaboration for smart and sustainable territorial development” BSC icon-clock 04 / 11 / 2021

BSC in cooperation with BA School of Business and Finance and the masters programme in sociology of the University of Latvia, invites the master and doctoral students to the online autumn school-hackathon “Collaboration for smart and sustainable territorial development”.

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New network of pan-European ambassadors to change food systems BSC icon-clock 10 / 09 / 2021

From 14th of September 2021, EU Horizon project COCOREADO starts to develop a pan-European ambassadors’ network. The project opens a call to select individuals passionate about food and agriculture who would bring forward the project’s ambition of rebalancing the food supply chain and reconnecting farmers and consumers in Europe. The 40 selected people, ambassadors, will take part in the project’s training program aimed to enable them to facilitate sustainable changes in food systems.

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Book of abstracts of the BSC conference "Latvia on the Road to Sustainable Food Production and Consumption" published Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča, Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 09 / 08 / 2021

The book of abstracts of the papers presented at the interdisciplinary conference "Latvia on the Road to Sustainable Food Production and Consumption" organised by BSC on 11 June 2021 is now made avaialble in both Latvian and English.

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BSC contributes to the European discussion on the Long Term Vision for Rural Areas Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 16 / 02 / 2021

Shall we weed vegetable gardens through augmented reality glasses? BSC researchers contribute to the European discussion on the Long Term Vision for Rural Areas and the role digitalisation will play in shaping rural futures.

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First look at SINFO focus group discussion data Līna Orste icon-clock 05 / 11 / 2020

In October, students of the undergraduate programme in sociology (University of Latvia) were engaged in the project SINFO to conduct three focus group discussions (FGD). In these discussions we wanted to gain a more in-depth understanding of issues raised in the public opinion survey.

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BSC contributes to student training at the University of Latvia Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 29 / 10 / 2020

In September-October 2020, BSC provided an opportunity for sociology bachelor students from the University of Latvia to participate in the organisation of focus groups with consumers within the framework of the project SINFO ("Social innovation in food provision: Pathways to sustainable production and consumption"), thereby contributing to student training and involvement in scientific research.

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How to benefit from wild products? Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 21 / 07 / 2020

Have you ever wondered - can I commercialise berries, mushrooms or other wild products? Answer these two questions and you will receive an answer on how to do it!

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How much effort should you expend on sourcing food? Emīls Ķīlis icon-clock 25 / 02 / 2020

My colleagues and I are currently working on a project called SINFO. The overall purpose of the project is to gain a better understanding of social innovation in food provision and think about how we could enable practical innovations towards sustainable food production and consumption in Latvia. One of the first things we did, whilst still working on the conceptual framework, was to create a database of sorts of all the initiatives in Latvia that are related to food in general and more sustainable approaches to consumption and distribution in particular. One of the initiatives we looked at is the internet platform svaigi.lv.

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Coordination of Cultural Life in Tukums: An Outsider's Take Emīls Ķīlis icon-clock 11 / 02 / 2020

Last week Anda and I attended the third seminar dedicated to the cultural strategy of Tukums. As far as I understand, this will likely be the last seminar for a good while, unless additional input from stakeholders is necessary to develop the document. The next event in this series will probably be the presentation of the first draft of the cultural strategy, and it will take place sometime in June 2020.

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Once Upon a Time in Tukums: Further Observations on a Cultural Strategy Emīls Ķīlis icon-clock 20 / 01 / 2020

Last week my colleague Miķelis and I went to Tukums to participate in a seminar where the strategic framework for the cultural strategy of Tukums municipality was presented. Well, I say “participate”, but in reality we were there as observers.

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Reflections on an Event: Working on Tukums Cultural Strategy Emīls Ķīlis icon-clock 29 / 11 / 2019

Frustration, territorial reforms and a valiant effort to work on a strategy for an entire municipality on a cold November morning in Tukums.

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DESIRA kicks off in Pisa BSC icon-clock 04 / 09 / 2019

DESIRA (Digitisation: Economic and Social Impacts on Rural Areas) is a Horizon 2020 Project coordinated by the University of Pisa. It aims to improve the capacity of society and political bodies to respond to the challenges that digitisation generates in rural areas, agriculture and forestry, and to provide a comprehensive assessment of both opportunities and threats.

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A few more thoughts on being a living lab monitor Emils icon-clock 08 / 04 / 2019

A quick update on the challenges of building a protype for the AgriLink WP3 living lab in Latvia.

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A quick update #4 BSC icon-clock 18 / 10 / 2018

The BSC team has started autumn with a variety of research activities and intense work on several research projects.

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ESRS autumn school - call for abstracts BSC icon-clock 07 / 09 / 2018

European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) Autumn School to be held in Riga, Latvia. The objective of the Autumn School “Social Innovation in and for Sustainable Food Provision” is to advance scientific knowledge of PhD students in rural sociology and related disciplines (e.g. agriculture and food studies, nutrition and public health) about the role social innovation plays in contemporary food provision. Abstracts have to be sent to: andris.suvajevs@gmail.com by the 20th of September.

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A quick update #3 BSC icon-clock 18 / 07 / 2018

The BSC team has spent the summer months actively working on several research projects, but researchers have also found time to relax and participate in the Latvian Song and Dance Festival and an informal work event in Vilksala.

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International workshop on System Innovation towards Sustainable Agriculture (SISA-3) BSC icon-clock 12 / 07 / 2018

The 3rd international workshop on System Innovation towards Sustainable Agriculture (SISA-3) is to be held in Riga on 6-8 November 2018 co-organised by the Baltic Studies Centre. The deadline for submitting abstracts has been extended to 15 July.

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A quick update #2 BSC icon-clock 30 / 05 / 2018

The BSC team has been busy since the last entry. We have continued working on our research projects, but there are also a number of activities that we would like to highlight.

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How to interpret concept "Non-timber forest products"? Miķelis Grīvinš icon-clock 16 / 05 / 2018

It’s been six months since the TRUST project started. A lot has been done since then. Just in April, we were asked to talk about our findings in Hague Erasmus University, Wageningen University and Research and in "Food Urbanism" conference held in Tartu. #postdoclatvia #wildproducts

 

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A quick update #1 BSC icon-clock 09 / 05 / 2018

The BSC team has succesfully conducted several interviews, and BSC researchers have given presentations on the institute's activities.

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A few thoughts on being a living lab monitor Emīls Ķīlis icon-clock 20 / 04 / 2018

I recently jotted down a few thoughts on the responsibilities of being a living lab monitor as part of the Agrilink project. I somehow managed to combine my interest in Linux and science studies with my work on the Latvian living lab.

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Blogging about living labs Emīls Ķīlis icon-clock 22 / 03 / 2018

I have been given the role of monitor as part of AgriLink living lab project, and I have recently started a blog to document the process of understanding living labs and creating one in Latvia. I have committed to writing at least one blog post per week. They will generally be on the short side (300-400 words), but I intend to post more lengthy reflections after stimulating project meetings or any other interesting events.

You can find my blog at: http://livinglablv.blogspot.com/

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Three months in the post-doctoral program Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 28 / 02 / 2018

The post-doctoral study "Innovations in Non-timber Forest Products: Towards Rural Development and Sustainability (TRUSt)” has been running for three months now.

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Innovations in Non-timber Forest Products: Towards Rural Development and Sustainability Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 02 / 01 / 2018

BSC researcher Mikelis Grivins starts working on the post-doctoral study "Innovations in Non-timber Forest Products: Towards Rural Development and Sustainability".
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Farmer knowledge for more sustainable agriculture Sandra Šūmane icon-clock 22 / 11 / 2017
Articles by Sandra Šūmane, Tālis Tisenkopfs, Ilona Kunda and co-authors have been published in Journal of Rural Studies and www.arc2020.eu. These articles point to the role of local and farmer knowledge in transition towards more sustainable agriculture.
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SALSA Newsletter No 1 (in Latvian) Sandra Šūmane icon-clock 03 / 11 / 2017

The first national newsletter on the progress and initial results of the intenational SALSA project has been issued by BSC.

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What are the cultural connections between urban and rural? Talis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 20 / 10 / 2017

BSC researcher Talis Tisenkopfs in an interview about key cultural connections between urban and rural territories and populations to be explored in the EU H2020 project ROBUST.

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What makes agricultural demonstration successful? Anda Adamsone-Fiskovica icon-clock 20 / 10 / 2017

BSC researchers blog about H2020 project PLAID findings on success factors in agricultural demonstration.

 

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BSC features on Euronews Talis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 20 / 10 / 2017

BSC researchers feature in Euronews science program Futuris on the Future of Food Technology.

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Conference keynote speakers announced Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 12 / 05 / 2017

We are announcing keynote speakers that will give lectures in conference “Alternative food supply networks in Central and Eastern Europe: Towards new grounds for interpretation and collaboration”.

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Conference call: Alternative food supply networks in Central and Eastern Europe Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 06 / 04 / 2017

The Baltic Studies Centre, in cooperation with the Latvian Academy of Culture, organises the scientific and practical conference “Alternative food supply networks in Central and Eastern Europe: Towards new grounds for interpretation and collaboration”.

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Announcement BSC icon-clock 14 / 10 / 2016

Baltic Studies Centre announces the preliminary call for selection of post-doctoral research proposals within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund programme “Growth and Employment” 1.1.1. specific support objective “To increase the research and innovative capacity of scientific institutions of Latvia and the ability to attract external financing, investing in human resources and infrastructure” activity 1.1.1.2. “Post-doctoral research aid”. 

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E-conference "Exploring the contribution of small farms to achieving food security and improved nutrition" BSC icon-clock 26 / 09 / 2016

Researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and other stakeholders are invited to participate in a moderated e-mail conference hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 10 to 23 October 2016 entitled "Exploring the contribution of small farms to achieving food security and improved nutrition".

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BSC hosts TRANSMANGO project meeting in Riga Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 12 / 09 / 2016

What are food and nutrition future scenarios for Europe and which transition pathways lead to improved food and nutrition security of the population? How these pathways are related to improvements in school meals provision, food assistance to vulnerable groups, greater involvement of small farmers in provision of healthy products, introduction of sustainability standards in food production and other practical solutions? These were among the issues that were tackled during the TRANSMANGO project meeting held in Riga on 8-9 September 2016, bringing together 38 researchers from Latvia and abroad.

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BSC researchers and doctoral students of the University of Latvia meet at academic writing retreat Tālis Tisenkopfs & Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 10 / 07 / 2016

What is needed for achieving notable progress in generating scientific publications and thesis chapters ahead? Commitment and painstaking writing! However, the text production could be made a lot smoother and more creative by collective support!

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There is some discomfort, but you can do it Ilona Kunda icon-clock 16 / 03 / 2016

A sociologist reflects on her experiences of researchers-practitioner collaboration and asks how social scientists can provide genuine value.

 

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BSC takes the lead among the research institutes of social sciences and humanities in Latvia in the attraction of EU funding Tālis Tisenkopfs icon-clock 11 / 03 / 2016

According to the overview provided by the National Contact point of the European research and innovation programme „Horizon 2020”, the Baltic Studies Centre (BSC) is the most successful research institute in the field of social sciences and humanities in Latvia in the attraction of EU project funding, and it comes 11th among all the 77 research institutes in the country.

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A new transnational project “InnoFruit” aimed at boosting innovation performance and capacity of the fruit growing and processing sector in the Baltic Sea Region launched Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča icon-clock 01 / 03 / 2016

On 1 March 2016, a new 3-year transnational project „Advancement of non-technological innovation performance and innovation capacity in fruit growing and processing sector in selected Baltic Sea Region countries” (InnoFruit) has been launched.

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The first scenario workshop of the TRANSMANGO project sucessfully held in Latvia Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča icon-clock 18 / 02 / 2016

On 18 February 2016, a workshop was organised in Riga by BSC researchers in the framework of the international research project TRANSMANGO („Assessment of the impact of drivers of change on Europe’s food and nutrition security”) were a scenario building method was applied in debating issues regarding school catering.

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GLAMUR project’s conclusions have been presented in Brussels Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 27 / 01 / 2016

On 22 January food system researchers, governance and market representatives were gathering in Brussels to participate in the final conference of the GLAMUR project. During the conference project's main conclusions and policy implications were presented. Also, several chaired discussions took place during the conference.

To read more about BSC involvement in the project visit http://bscresearch.lv/en/projects/glamur

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Why not a Common Food and Nutrition Policy for Europe? Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 12 / 01 / 2016

Terry Marsden, TRANSMANGO researcher and professor at Cardiff University, shares his reflections on the European policy. Why not a Common Food and Nutrition Policy for Europe? is an opinion paper that should open up the debate. The TRANSMANGO consortium welcomes your comments on twitter @transmango, #commonfoodpolicy or on our facebookpage https://www.facebook.com/transmango

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Moving away from bi-polar interpretation Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 20 / 09 / 2015

Dichotomies serve as ideal types that allow orienting in the diversity. Yet, to comprehend the reality we should rather search for the way how to bridge the gap between them. Recently the researchers’ interest in how to go beyond the simplified binary interpretations of agro food systems has risen. Two of the BSC researchers (Grivins & Tisenkopfs) have published an article on this matter.

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Conference in Rome discusses agriculture in an urbanizing Society Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 19 / 09 / 2015

Researchers from Baltic Studies Centre have presented results from Latvia in the Second International Conference on Agriculture in an Urbanizing Society in Rome. The Conference was focusing on reconnecting agriculture and food chains to societal needs and was aiming to advance the scientific state of the art in research on multifunctional agriculture, local food chains and urban-rural relations by bringing together scholars from a wide range of disciplines (sociology, economics, spatial planning, land-use planning, regional planning, urban planning, crop sciences, animal sciences, soil sciences, architecture, etc.) from many parts of the world.

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The Evolution of Household Foodscapes in Latvia Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 16 / 09 / 2015

Joint article by Lani Trenouth and Talis Tisenkopfs - "The Evolution of Household Foodscapes over Two Decades of Transition in Lativa" has been published in Journal of Baltic Studies. The article traces changes in household food consumption patterns comparing the late Soviet period and the present day based on household interviews and interpretive analysis.

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The XXVI European Society for Rural Sociology congress Miķelis Grīviņš icon-clock 14 / 09 / 2015

The XXVI European Society for Rural Sociology congress "Places of Possibility? Rural Societies in Neoliberal World" has taken place in Aberdeen, Scotland on 18-21 August, 2015. Four participants from BSC participated in the conference and two papers were presented.

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