On Thursday 22nd February IHS master’s students who are specialising in Urban Strategies and Planning hosted a conference at Blue City, Rotterdam. The group were presenting the findings of their project “Food and the City”, which was inspired by the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and explores the availability of food in Rotterdam. The attendees of this event were mainly stakeholders that the group had reached out to during their research for this project, as well as some of the academic staff from IHS.
The purpose of this conference was to validate the information that the group gathered during the research period, and to collaborate with and gain feedback from the stakeholders by creating an environment where they can interact and learn. Based on their research the Urban Strategies and Planning group proposed two scenarios for the future of Rotterdam, which they presented at the conference.
Other content that was presented by the students covered the topics “Environmental Resilience”, “Sustainability in the Food System”, “Age and Ethnic Diversity” and “Social Economic Diversity”.
The members of the Urban Strategies and Planning group are from 13 different nationalities and various professional backgrounds including architecture, law, engineering and environmental studies. Mauricio one of the students organising the conference said that the diverse nature of the group has provided an “enriching experience for everyone”. He also said that the project has provided him with an “experience that surpass[ed] other regular courses or modules”.
In order to put on this event the group had to do more than just research the content for the presentation. They assigned themselves roles including photographers, ushers, master of ceremonies and even a DJ. With a networking break and dinner to round off the evening, this event was considered a great success by all that attended.