YEDİ talks “Giveback”: ideas and stories of social empowerment merged in Istanbul

17 NOVEMBER 2016

The YEDİ conference has just completed its third annual show on 6^th of November, 2016, in Istanbul, Turkey.

The conference addresses all matters to do with food and eating globally. YEDİ refers to the seven regions of Turkey, and also means ‘eaten’ in the Turkish language.

With this year’s Extinction themed conference attracting more than 300 attendees, it was sure to make an impact. The theme was related to maintaining the environment and food diversity, so that all of us have plenty to eat, in terms of quantity and variety.

14 passionate and influential campaigners also spoke at the event. This included Defne Koryürek, Founder of Slow Food; Fikir Sahibi Damaklar, who promotes local food traditions and products as resources for local communities; and Ebru Baybara from Hayatim Yenibahar, who encourages the creation of small businesses in southeast Turkey so that women can have a future in their hometown.

Arash Derambarsh, creator of the food recovery law in France also contributed to the event, alongside Australian Ronni Kahn from Oz Harvest Foundation, who connects surplus foods to charities who will give it to those in need.

Voices also came from leading activists campaigning for food waste to be given to those in poverty. These included Ayşe Tükrükçü from the Soup Kitchen for the Homeless project, as well as Lars Charas from the Feeding Good Organisation; and Yörük Kurtaran, Founder of the Sivil Toplum için Destek Vakfı (Civil Society Support Foundation).

Chef Massimo Bottura, creator of the Food for Soul initiative also spoke at the event, recalling how Refettorio Gastromotiva has helped communities in Rio de Janeiro.

Grundig is proud to have been a sponsor of the YEDİ conference. Our own Respect Food initiative has also been created with one goal in mind: to reduce food wastage. We believe that food is precious. Everyone deserves to have something to eat, so instead of throwing away perfectly edible food, we can make it into something delicious and feed the world.