Dear members and friends,
 

This newsletter contains an overview of all training sessions offered by various team members of the Federation. It lists all upcoming sessions with registration or entrance links. And we pre-announce sessions planned in the near future. 

Keep an eye on the next newsletters for the annonced sessions! Each training session has its own contact person for further queries. For practical purposes, the training sessions are displayed according to the calendar. 

Notify your colleagues in the association of the training sessions open to all members! 

Induction session on new GMOs 
November 22, 2 to 3.30 pm CET 

Together with Slow Food Europe, the Federation organizes an introduction session on new GMOs entitled: “All you need to know about new GMOs and the industry’s plans to deregulate them”. This session takes place in the framework of the EU GM Coalition which the Federation is part of. 

The European Commission is taking the first steps towards deregulating new GMOs in the EU as, under pressure from agro-chemical industry, it recently concluded that the current GMO rules were “not fit for purpose”. Civil society organizations worry that new GMOs may arrive untested and unlabeled onto our fields and plates and started to run a campaign against such a deregulation. 

This session is meant to give participants a basic understanding of what new GMOs are, and what are the pros and cons of the European Commission’s plans to deregulate them. Therefore, everyone working in the fields of food and farming is welcome to join.  

Open to all members! 
To join, please register via this form: https://forms.office.com/r/gsJSuJWpFG. Only registered participants will receive the Zoom link to join the meeting. 
 
The main objectives of the session are the following:

• Introduction & Main Objectives 
• What are new GMOs
• Deregulation of new GMOs at EU level
• How do we prevent such a deregulation
• Conclusion

Conversion process with ICO 
December 2, 3 to 4.30 pm CET 

This session is part of the Advisor-To-Advisor-Training pilot during 2021 specifically aimed at the recognised advisors. 

Albrecht Benzing will present the certification process from the point of view of ICO and the templates and requirements in use by ICO. There will be space for exchange and discussion.  

On invitation only! Invitation is limited to all recognised advisors (for an overview see here: www.biodynamic-advisors.org) 

For more information, please contact Paz Bernaschina at: paz.bernaschina@demeter.net.

Communication & Marketing Workshop 
December 3, 2 to 3 pm CET
 

How to communicate Biodynamics and Demeter – basic course 

We warmly invite you to a workshop about services of BFDI for communication and marketing activities. 

Open to all members! Join here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82424129666?pwd=VmNuNHM0MVpnNmxOZlJidEliNjVDQT09  

This event is perfect for all interested and active in communicating Biodynamics and promoting the Demeter brand in their country – no matter if you are just about to start or if you have established communication/marketing. There will be time for questions and discussion.

For more information, please contact Katja Aßmann at: katja.assmann@demeter.net.

Training session on New GMOs 
December 14, 2 to 3.30 pm CET 

The Lobby and Public Relations Committee of the Federation invites you to a didactic training session on new GMOs oriented towards campaigning.

We will focus on simple key messages with potential actions to foster campaigns on new GMOs and share with you some available material ready to be used.  As part of the available material a short briefing paper will be presented, as well as a mapping of the current situation worldwide. 

Open to all members! Registration and entrance link will follow in the next newsletter. 

For more information, please contact Clara Behr at: clara.behr@demeter.net.

Changes to the Standard valid in 2022 
January 26, 2022, 3 to 5 pm CET English
January 27, 2022, 3 to 5 pm CET Spanish

The Biodynamic Federation offers a training session of 2 hours on International Demeter Biodynamic Standard Changes decided in 2021, valid as of January 2022.  

Albrecht Benzing, Quality manager at the Federation will lead you through the decisions of last year and will be prepared for your questions of clarification concerning the changes or other questions related to the Standards that you will bring forward. 

To prepare yourself, herewith a link to the current valid version of our umbrella standard: 
International Demeter Biodynamic Standard | Demeter International 

The session is aimed at the international standard and will not be able to answer on national amendments valid through national decisions. It will also not answer to discussions on standard changes for next year. 

For more information, please contact Albrecht Benzing at: albrecht.benzing@demeter.net.