Elena Artico is a campaigns and programme leader with extensive experience driving global and European food‑system change. She played an instrumental role in the success of the historic End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative, helping mobilise millions across the EU and secure major political commitments. Elena now supports multi‑country teams to deliver high-impact work that advances a fairer, more sustainable food system for all.
Works as a senior research associate at the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb. The fields of work are social and solidarity economy, sustainability, permaculture and civid education. He has published eight books and several scientific papers. The last book is Public Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy – Manual for Cities (2021).
He teaches the Global Society and Sustainable Development course at Peace Studies in Zagreb. He is active in the association Green Network of Activist Groups (ZMAG) as the Coordinator of the Center of knowledge program and as the manager of the Cooperative for a Good Economy.
Flavia is a dedicated advocate for food sovereignty and agroecology, leading global communication and advocacy efforts at Urgenci to promote community-supported agriculture. As an Advocacy Representative for Nyéléni Europe and Central Asia, she has spoken at the FAO on civil society’s role in shaping just food systems. She is also part of the Equity Working Group at CSIPM, working to address systemic inequities in food governance. Flavia bridges grassroots movements with international policy, championing food as a fundamental right.
Saverio is a cultural project manager and Artivatore, dedicated to using art as a tool for social transformation. As Coordinator of Rebirth/Third Paradise Ambassadors at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, he leads a global network promoting art-driven change. He also founded and presides over Associazione Culturale Artivazione, fostering community engagement through creativity. With a background in insurance sciences from Sapienza Università di Roma, he combines strategic planning with cultural activism to bridge art, society, and sustainability.
Trained in international law and humanitarian aid management, she has held key roles in NGOs like Solidarités International and Action contre la Faim, working in crisis contexts across Afghanistan, Haiti, Sudan, Chad, and more. With over a decade of field experience as a program manager and country director, she led research on Severe Acute Malnutrition in Chad and oversaw cash transfer programs in Haiti and Mali. Returning to France in 2016, she directed operations for Première Urgence before becoming Country Director for Action contre la Faim France in 2019, shaping its advocacy and intervention strategy for the Right to Food.
Olga is a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Massachusetts. With a background in international organizations, research, and civil society advocacy, she has worked on issues ranging from animal welfare to social justice and environmental policy. She has built a strong network within EU institutions, successfully influencing policy on food, farming, and animal welfare. A key figure in the End The Cage Age ECI, she played a crucial role in its success and continues to drive EU-level advocacy for sustainable and ethical food systems
A peasant from Haute Savoie and was member of the Coordinating Committee of the European Coordination of La Via Campesina (ECVC) between 2018 and 2024. He is an active member of the ECVC peasant rights working group. In the past he worked for about ten years with homeless people. Afterwards he settled as a farmer in association with his brother on the family farm where they produce milk under a quality label for cheese making.
Ramona is an agricultural activist and advocate for peasant farming, dedicated to food sovereignty and small-scale farmers’ rights. As a former Coordinator for La Via Campesina Europe, she represented a global movement of over 200 million farmers. She has engaged in UN food policy through the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) and has written extensively on trade agreements, agribusiness mergers, and local food systems for ARC2020 and EUobserver. A frequent speaker on human rights and the right to food, Ramona continues to challenge corporate influence in agriculture and advocate for fair food systems.
Walter el Nagar is a chef, social entrepreneur, and advocate for the right to food. As the founder of Good Food for All – Europe (GFFA-EU) and Fondazione Mater, he leads initiatives that merge culinary innovation with social justice. He established Refettorio Geneva, the only fine dining restaurant in the world that opens daily to serve those in need, and pioneered emergency food solutions like the Rapid Relief Kitchen (RRK). His work extends to international advocacy, including the European Citizens’ Initiative on the Right to Food, and he is dedicated to sustainability, zero food waste, and migrant integration through vocational training. Walter continuously challenges and reshapes the role of food in society.
Katerina-Shelagh Boucoyannis works as Policy Lead at ECOLISE, the European Network for Community-Led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability, where she leads participatory EU advocacy on food and housing. She recently steered ECOLISE’s first sectoral food systems policy positioning process, engaging 230+ members and partners and culminating in a landmark presentation at the European Economic and Social Committee and the publication of Future of Food, a shared vision and 13 policy recommendations co-created by community-led initiatives, networks and practitioners from across Europe, highlighting how community-led action can strengthen resilience, restore ecosystems, improve food security and contribute to a just transition towards sustainable food systems. An architect-urbanist by training, her path into food systems work runs through permaculture, a research fellowship with Quito’s AGRUPAR urban agroecology network, and a master’s in sustainable territorial development grounded in agroecology, food sovereignty, and socioenvironmental justice.
Paola Hernández Oliván works as Project Coordinator at Mensa Cívica, a Spanish nonprofit association dedicated to collective and social catering since 2016, where she leads work spanning school food policy, public procurement, and civil society advocacy across local, national, and EU levels. She has served as Spain’s national coordinator for SchoolFood4Change, the EU-funded project bringing the Whole School Food Approach to schools across Europe, working alongside institutions, families associations, and food producers to embed agroecological, seasonal, and short-supply-chain criteria into school food provision. She supports the GoodFoodForAll campaign because guaranteeing the right to adequate food in law is essential to making that vision a reality for children across Europe. She holds an Erasmus Mundus Master’s in European Public Health (Andalusian School of Public Health / EHESP Rennes) and a Bachelor’s in Food Science and Technology from the University of Zaragoza.
