Event information

26th–27th April 2023
Big Tent
Leeds

AFN Network+ Big Tent 2023

The first annual meeting of the Network brought together researchers and stakeholders from across UK agri-food for two days of learning, collaboration and networking.

Keynote speakers included:

  • Daniel Zeichner MP, Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Anthea Stephenson, Founder of Willow
  • Gerard Davies, UKRI

Watch the keynote speech

Daniel Zeichner, Shadow Minister for Environment gave the opening keynote speech. If you missed it, you can watch it again in full here:

Listen to a special edition of the AFN Network+ podcast recorded at the Big Tent:

Sessions run across the two days included:

  • Presentation by co-lead Tim Benton on the future scenarios work being carried out by the Network and research priorities
  • Break sessions with the Network Champions on their six themes – Sustainable Production System, Land for Sequestration and Biodiversity, Consumers and Supply Chains,  Novel Technologies and Analytics, Systems Interaction and Complexity and Individual and Institutional Behaviour
  • Funding opportunities

“It was great to feel that my contributions were part of a bigger and cohesive whole. an absolutely inspiring and energising event that demonstrated the benefit of face to face interactive sessions and a flat and inclusive governance structure in large network programs.”​

Dr Saher Hasnain, Researcher at the Food Systems Transformation Programme, University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute