Every year, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs organizes a working visit for all international ambassadors in the Netherlands. This year they visited the province of Gelderland to see and taste the latest food innovations. The 'Food inspiration tour' started at Wageningen Campus, the knowledge heart of Foodvalley, and ended at the Open Air Museum in Arnhem. More than 70 ambassadors from all over the world learned about topics such as smart and sustainable food production and technological innovations for healthy nutrition.
King's Commissioner, John Berends, welcomed the public in Omnia, the dialogue center on Wageningen Campus. In his welcome address, he emphasized the shared responsibility and the importance of cross-border cooperation to tackle global challenges, such as climate change, migration flows and the food supply of a growing world population. Resulting in an appeal to the ambassadors to take the inspiration from Gelderland to heart.
The ambassadors then attended workshops at various organizations located on Wageningen Campus, such as Unilever, the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Center and OnePlanet Research Center; a collaboration between WUR, IMEC and the Province of Gelderland where smart chips and sensors are developed for healthy and sustainably produced food.
Making a global impact from the region
"By working well together in a specific sector and focusing on knowledge exchange, a rock-solid ecosystem can be created with a global impact on transitions such as making food systems more sustainable." That is the message that Sjoukje Heimovaara, chair of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), gave to the group of ambassadors. "Many countries are interested in the Dutch innovation model in which knowledge institutions, governments, companies and NGOs work closely together. This is very tangible in Wageningen and we try to show it up close."
After the visit to Wageningen Campus, the group visited the Open Air Museum where they gained more insight into Dutch food and agricultural traditions. Then take another leap into the future with a sustainable Taste of tomorrow dinner by pioneering food designer Katja Gruijters, inspired by the DNA of six Gelderland regions.
