Ms. Sibelle El Labban, Executive Assistant for Research support, was invited to participate in the event Conflict and Cooperation in the Mediterranean: Mare Nostrum or Global Space? organized by the New-Med research network of the Instituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Italy and in cooperation with the Centre for European Perspective of Slovenia.
The event on social and geopolitical transformations in the Mediterranean and the prospects of regional cooperation took place in the framework of the 2019 Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) (Re) sources of (In) stability, September 2-3, 2019. Sibelle participated in the panel session, Prospect of Regional Cooperation in the Mediterranean and the Role of International Organizations.
In her presentation, Shifting to healthier diets for environmental sustainability: A food system approach, Sibelle delivered an overview of the most challenging health and environmental global challenges. She highlighted the importance of sustainable diets in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and presented the latest FAFS research conducted by faculty from NFSC and the Food Security Program on the impact of food consumption patterns on environmental sustainability in Lebanon and the MENA region. Sibelle concluded her remarks by stressing the important role of regional cooperation in supporting research for sustainability of the Water-Energy-Food-Health system and ensuring effective governance of food systems.
The presentation was followed by a panel session and Q&A discussion with the audience. About 50 young scholars were selected by BSF organizers from a large number of countries, mostly the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe, to participate in the meeting and interact with the panelists. FAFS faculty and staff are international ambassadors who showcase the latest research conducted at AUB.