A new continent joined Impact Hub’s third global Mash Up on June 30.Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur, the first participant from Asia, concurrently hosted the open-to-the-public event series alongside Impact Hubs Zurich, Stockholm, and King’s Cross London. Each location shared powerful Pecha Kucha presentations as well as appetizers, drinks, and networking around this quarter’s theme of “Sustainable Food.” Speakers covered a variety of topics—including eating for emission reductions, ethics in the fishing industry, and transporting food to families in Syria—as our global network followed in real-time through the #ImpactHubMashUp Tagboard and a Periscope livestream. Participants left feeling empowered to make better food consumption choices and witha newfound appreciation of how social ventures can challenge the existing food system.

Read the highlights from last month’s event below, and mark your calendars! The next global Mash Up will take place this September. Stay tuned for announcements on the exact day and theme.

  

Our growing list of Mash Up hosts now includes Impact Hubs from South America, North America, Europe and Asia, thanks to Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur. The first-time participants jumped right in with two uplifting speakers.

 

 (Photo credit: Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur)

Travel blogger Rayyan Harris spoke on The Food Situation at the Refugee Line, sharing stories of his amazing work feeding refugees in Syria. Harris has been traveling and volunteering for more than three consecutive years. Follow his journey at The Cute Traveler.

 

Next up was Rhonwyn Hagedorn, Project Coordinator for Project Whee. Her presentation on Food Security and the Average Farmer detailed her experience with sustainable food in rural Malaysia. Project Whee is a community development initiative where youth participants serve the rural population of Bario, Sarawak through sustainable eco-tourism development and training. They welcome volunteers and offer paid internships.

 

 

 

(Photo Credit: Impact Hub Zurich)

Manuel Klarman of Eaternity was the first of four speakers for the night. Consuming meals that are local, seasonal, and plant-based three times a week has the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions by 1 billion tons per year. Eaternity is a new app helping the restaurant industry track and reduce its carbon footprint through these types of climate-friendly meals, which have at least 53% less emissions than average meals. At the time of this post, 74 participating restaurants had cooked 25,468 climate-friendly meals, resulting in 21,902 kg of reduced carbon emissions.

The second presentation was Sustainable Supply-Chain Coffee by Christian Burri of Algrano, the first online community connecting roasters with micro-growers. He explained how quality and legitimacy are maintained through this direct coffee platform that allows for sourcing straight from the farm. Algrano (a.k.a. “the Facebook for coffee”) currently connects 248 producers to 382 roasters across 57 countries.

Next up, we discovered a new development in urban farming from Jonas Schmidt of Gmüesgärtli. The website delivers recycled crates and barrels filled with soil and organic seedlings direct to Zurich balconies, terraces, and other small city spaces. In just a few weeks, one can enjoy sustainable, seasonal produce and herbs fresh from their “garden in a box.”

All the way from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, surprise guest, Dr. Martin Kohlmaier rounded up the evening. He wowed the audience with a presentation on nutrigenetrics (dna-tailored nutrition), making the case that not all of us should follow the same nutritional advice.

 

 

Selina’s Organics Founder, Selina Hami (Photo Credit: Impact Hub Stockholm)

Selina’s Organics founder, Salina Hami served up her signature “funky” vegan fare before sharing her story of successfully combining her passion for organic food, traveling and social entrepreneurship. She uses her Stockholm-based catering business to fund the creative food projects she personally carries out around the world. Her 2016 initiative, “Portraits of Syria” delivered 6,498 kg of food to 342 families in Damascus.

“Cook for a good cause!” – Melina Taprantzi, Wise Greece

Melina Taprantzi of Wise Greece joined the Mash Up remotely, straight from Athens. The non-profit organization promotes the benefits of the Mediterranean diet through the sale of top-quality Greek products. Profits are used to buy food for the homeless as well as children and elderly in need. Shop the Wise Greek label at stores in Greece and abroad.

“We create new recipes from waste” – Filip Lundini, Sopköket

Filip Lundini closed the event with the story of a social enterprise on a mission to minimize food waste. Sopköket transforms surplus food from stores and suppliers into high-quality catering. Excess meals are donated to charity.

 

KING’S CROSS, LONDON

Impact Hub King’s Cross hosted 50 attendees at their second global Mash Up. Titled “Fishy Business,” the evening took a deep dive into the obscure depths of the fishing industry. Executive Director of the Food Ethics Council, Daniel Crossley, chaired the event, which featured two expert speakers and a sustainable food buffet sponsored by Think.Eat.Drink and Organico with their Fish4Ever brand.

 

 (Photo Credit: Impact Hub King’s Cross London)

 

 

Emily Howgate of the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) kicked off the evening with a talk on sustainable seafood. The IPNLF is creating jobs through the development and promotion of one-by-one tuna fisheries. Howgate encouraged the audience to make ethical fish consumption choices by checking for ASC and MCS labels. When in doubt, review the Good Fish Guide for a list of fish to eat and fish to avoid.

Founder and Executive Director of the Environmental Justice Foundation, Steve Trent closed the evening with a shocking short film exposing human trafficking, slavery, and murder in Kantang, Thailand’s seafood industry. We can all support seafood that is 100% slave-free by taking action here.

 

Join us for the next global Mash Up in September! We will be testing out exciting new formats and ideas throughout the rest of the year. Learn more or host a Mash Up at your Impact Hub by filling out this simple form .