Abu Dhabi, UAE
25-27 Nov 2025

Cities leading
food production

Programme

Limited seating

Programme roundtables, inspiration seminars and speakers

Tuesday, Nov 25

Transformative Food Square

10:30-11:00 | OPENING CITIES LEADING FOOD PRODUCTION | Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

An introduction to the impact of ‘Cities leading food production’ and its various subtopics.

11:15-12:15 | ROUNDTABLE GOVERNANCE | Cross-continental dialogue on building resilient city learning ecosystems and policy frameworks, connecting Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Speakers:

  • Dr. Fadel Ndiame - Executive Director of Partnership for African Social & Governance Research (PASGR)

  • Ásgeir Óskarsson - Managing Director, BSV Association

  • Carla Moonen - President, Royal Dutch Association of Engineering Companies

  • Dr. Samie Kayani - Architect & traditional urbanist at the Earthna Center for Sustainability

  • Tatiana Antonelli Abella - Founder & Managing Director of Goumbook

  • Yann Rousselot-Pailley - Director, Innovation and Emerging Technology Lead of KPMG in Saudi Arab

15:00-16:00 | ROUNDTABLE TECH & HEALTH INNOVATIONS | Advancing nutrient density measurement with BSV Association’s blockchain innovations for secure health data integration, driving nutrition and health system transformation. Speakers:

  • Dan Kittredge - Founder - Bionutrient Food Association

  • Mohammad Jaber - Head of Solutions - BSV Association

  • Pieter Brons - Sales & Marketing Manager - PoultryPlan

  • Christopher de Looze - Vice President Digital & Business Transformation - Aldahra

  • Yann Rousselot-Pailley - Director, Innovation and Emerging Technology Lead of KPMG in Saudi Arab

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

16:00-16:30 | SIGNING SESSION |
Ásgeir Óskarsson, Managing Director of BSV Association, signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Cities Leading Food Production.

Wednesday, Nov 26

10:30-11:00 | OPENING CITIES LEADING FOOD PRODUCTION | Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

An introduction to the impact of ‘Cities leading food production’ and its various subtopics.

Transformative Food Square

11:15-12:15 | ROUNDTABLE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE | Exploring scalable, cross-regional models for soil health, aquaculture, and food system resilience. Speakers:

  • John D. Liu - Film-maker & ecologist - Friends of the Ecosystem Restoration Movement

  • Dr. Fadel Ndiame - Executive Director of Partnership for African Social & Governance Research (PASGR)

  • Dan Kittredge - Founder of Bionutrient Food Association

  • Dr. Mohammad Al-Oun - Resilient Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture | Food & Water Security-UAE-GCC

  • Dr. Vinay Nangia - Research Program Director - Soil, Water, and Agronomy, ICARDA

  • Tatiana Antonelli Abella - Founder & Managing Director of Goumbook

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

15:00-16:00 | ROUNDTABLE WATER | Sessions on innovative, nature-based water cycle restoration, scalable water remediation and landscape regeneration projects across the EU, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Speakers:

  • Ties van der Hoeven - Founder & Creative Director, The Weather Makers

  • Simone Landhuis - Agricultural Counsellor, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Saudi Arabia

  • John D. Liu - Chinese American film-maker and ecologist - Friends of the Ecosystem Restoration Movement

  • Carla Moonen - President, Royal Dutch Association of Engineering Companies

  • Dr. Vinay Nangia - Research Program Director - Soil, Water, and Agronomy, ICARDA

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

16:00-16:30 | SIGNING SESSION |
Ties van der Hoeven, Founder & Creative Director of The Weather Makers signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Cities Leading Food Production.

Thursday, Nov 27

Transformative Food Square

10:30-11:00 | OPENING CITIES LEADING FOOD PRODUCTION | Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

An introduction to the impact of ‘Cities leading food production’ and its various subtopics.

11:15-12:15 | ROUNDTABLE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT | Parallel multi-day exchange: youth from every region co-create responses to water, agri-innovation, and organisational leadership. Speakers:

  • Mohammed Mishal, Curator for the Global Shapers Dubai

  • Dr. Fadel Ndiame, CEO of Partnership for African Social & Governance Research (PASGR)

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

15:00-16:00 | ROUNDTABLE FINANCE & INVESTMENT | How to mobilise finance to scale what works, new tools for resilient, regional investment in food-water-ecosystem innovation. Speakers:

  • Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

  • Nadine Benchaffai, Founder & Partner of PROJECT PEOPLE

  • Stephan Nilsson, CEO of UNISOT

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

16:00-16:30 | SIGNING SESSION | Dr. Fadel Ndiame, Executive Director of Partnership for African Social & Governance Research (PASGR) signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Cities Leading Food Production.

13:00-14:30 | INSPIRATION SEMINAR |
A deep dive into governance and supply chain innovations.

Speakers:

  • Pieter Brons - Sales & Marketing Manager - PoultryPlan

  • Dr. Fadel Ndiame - Executive Director of Partnership for African Social & Governance Research (PASGR)

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

Conference Plaza

Transformative Food Square

Conference Plaza

13:00-14:30 | INSPIRATION SEMINAR | A deep dive into the nutrient density of food, soil health and transparency.

Speakers:

  • Dan Kittredge - Founder of Bionutrient Food Association.

    Topic: Nutrient density is rapidly gaining momentum as a unifying concept across the food system. It offers a unique opportunity to connect movements focused on climate resilience, human health, farm viability, ecosystem regeneration, and holistic agricultural practices.

  • Asgeir Oskarsson - Managing Director, BSV Association

    Topic: Blockchain and digital autonomy to empower food sovereignty, digital autonomy and ecosystem reward systems.

Moderator: Mark Frederiks, Managing Director of Common Source, Living Lab Manager of EU4Advice

Transformative Food Square

Conference Plaza

13:00-14:30 | INSPIRATION SEMINAR | A deep dive into ecosystem restoration.

Speakers:

  • John D. Liu - Chinese American film-maker and ecologist - Friends of the Ecosystem Restoration Movement

  • Ties van der Hoeven - Founder & Creative Director of The Weather Makers

    Topic: The Abu Dhabi water case

Transformative Food Square

Programme partners