How to improve the school food environment and create equal opportunities for children?
From Policy to practice
Biographies
Keynote Speakers
Jiří Švarc is the Head of Unit at Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission. The mission of his unit is to contribute to strengthening the social dimension of Europe and achieve social fairness. The unit implements initiatives like the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, the European Child Guarantee, minimum income protection, social and essential services, addressing homelessness, promoting the use of distributional impact assessments, tackling income inequalities. Jiri is also responsible for the Social Protection Committee (and its sub-committees), for dialogue with civil society organisations.
Thibault Geerardyn is the Director of Rikolto in Europe and leads the organization's regional operations. His focus areas are sustainable food systems, inclusive business, short-chain distribution, healthy school food, and social inclusion.
Introductory speeches
René Segers-Hoogendoorn is a councillor in Rotterdam. He is responsible for healthcare, welfare and basic social services. It all starts with the social fabric. The social fabric of our city consists of informal networks: residents’ initiatives, voluntary organisations, religious institutions, sports clubs, cultural initiatives, small-scale creators, and youth and women’s networks. These groups are indispensable in tackling societal challenges. As a local authority, you must therefore support people in reaching out to one another and looking after one another. With this in mind, Councillor Segers-Hoogendoorn is committed to a Rotterdam where social initiatives flourish. Maintaining close contact with these informal networks is important to Segers-Hoogendoorn. He can therefore often be found out and about in the city, visiting these organisations. Before becoming an alderman, Segers-Hoogendoorn was a city councillor in Rotterdam. As a self-employed consultant, he provided organisational advice in the public sector. Prior to that, he was a director at Peuter & Co and Schoolmaatschappelijk Werk Rijnmond. He has also held various positions with, amongst others, the municipalities of Rotterdam and The Hague. Segers-Hoogendoorn studied Public Administration and Organisational Science. He is married, has four children and lives in Rotterdam.
