Gathering Information

Quiet day today.  Went to Brussels this morning (20 min train ride) to meet with a Director from Fevia, which is basically an organization made up of the food manufacturing companies with facilities in Belgium (Mars is a member).  Fevia provides information/updates to the food manufacturers in the areas of food/labeling regulations, labor relations, food quality/safety and does some lobbying as well. Because of this role, they are critically linked to helping raise awareness for the sustainable sourcing of raw materials. The information gathering phase continues... :)  And on a personal note, just as their advertising campaign claims, the food here is really, really great!!

The Task

As I get into Day 2, I have enough information and background to be dangerous.  We have all heard in one forum or another that the world population is outpacing the natural resources available on the planet and that, unless new strategies are put in place very soon, we will be faced with a world food shortage by the end of my generation.  There are many factors that are believed to contribute to this situation:  climate change, rising populations, soil degradation, water scarcity, energy shortages.... The list goes on.  The good news is that VECO, a few other NGOs and academic institutions have concluded that the best solution to this problem is to assist in the development of sustainable, small farming operations around the world.  What this means in practice is that VECO teams use dialogue, networking and negotiation skills to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships between small farmers, food distributors, transportation companies, food manufacturers and retailers.  As you can imagine, creating a mutually beneficial solution for all of these parties across a sustainable field to market supply chain can be a bit of a daunting task but VECO perseveres and has several success stories to prove that it is possible.  They are currently working small-holder farming programs in Indonesia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, Benin and Niger.

http://www.veco-ngo.org/blog/canned-asparagus-peru-finds-its-way-belgian-supermarket-chain-colruyt

My challenge:  Tell major food manufacturers in Belgium the scarcity of resources story in a way that makes it relevant to them and (hopefully) inspires them to lend some financial support to VECO.  In a fun, marketing way.  In one sentence or less.  That is compelling.  And cranks the flywheel (that's for you, Craig).  Wait till I introduce the VECO communications team to the leaky bucket and mental availability!!! :)

At the office

Vredeseilanden Entrance

My first day on the job -- This is the entrance to VECO's headquarters office in Leuven.  Their distinctive brand mark (or DMS for my marketing friends) is the figure of a man with arms and legs outstretched -- a version of Da Vinci's famous "Vitruvian Man" sketch.  This symbol represents the organization's philosophy:  To affect change in the world, man must take an integrated, holisitic approach using all of his skills and assets; intellectual, emotional and physical.  Vredeseilanden translates to "Islands of Peace" in English.

My desk!

And here is my new workspace from which the friendly, lovable and passionate VECO team is expecting me to produce an amazing marketing campaign for their 2015 program....gulp.

Arrival Day

So, I arrive in Belgium at 7:00 am local time, exhausted, and unable to check in until noon!  Enter Jan:  VECO Strategy Director, passionate about small holder farmers, sustainable agriculture, and ex-history teacher, who, undaunted by my sleepiness, takes me on an amazing walking tour of Leuven, complete with history lesson!  The city was founded in 891 AD and is truly a perfect example of European medieval town construction.  It is breathtaking.  And I will likely retain more of its impressive history after a nap! :)

Jan Wyckaert: VECO Director, airport driver, brilliant tour guide and new friend! 

In the beginning...

Bonjour and Welcome to my blog about my MAP experiences in Leuven, Belgium!  This is where I will be in 4 days:

A big shout out to my amazing friend Aubrey without whose help you would never have seen this....