SUSTENTO — International Closing Event 2025

SUSTENTO international closing webinar, 2025

On Friday, December 5, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Montréal time, the SUSTENTO project held its international closing event online: “Strengthening Alternative Food Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: Identities and Resistance in Informal Urban Settings”.

For more than four years, SUSTENTO worked with academic and community teams in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Cuba, examining how local initiatives for food production, processing and distribution contribute to climate resilience, food justice and reduced vulnerability in informal urban neighbourhoods. The closing event provided an opportunity to present the project’s main findings, highlight community voices and discuss public policy implications at local and regional levels.

The programme featured Professor Malek Batal (Université de Montréal) as the keynote speaker, alongside researchers, women community leaders and representatives of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

[+] Programme

09:00 – 09:05 \| Welcome remarks 09:05 – 09:45 \| Presentation of SUSTENTO project findings — Gonzalo Lizarralde 09:45 – 10:10 \| Professor Malek Batal’s analysis: Food systems, nutrition and resilience in urban settings 10:10 – 10:30 \| Questions and answers with participants 10:30 – 10:40 \| Break 10:40 – 11:40 \| Roundtable: Voices from local communities — Researchers and women community leaders from Colombia, Cuba, Chile and Ecuador. Moderator: Elsa Monsalve 11:40 – 12:00 \| Dialogue with IDRC: Policy implications and future directions 12:00 – 12:05 \| Closing remarks and acknowledgements

[+] Event Recording

Watch the recording here.