As part of the OH-FINE project's Work Package 10 on sustainability, communication and dissemination of results, ACN organised the EU workshop "Responding to consumers' needs: a qualitative assessment.” on 29 and 30 April 2026 in Rome.

While speakers and representatives from other consortium organisations joined the meeting remotely, it was attended in person by fourteen consumer organisations from eleven countries: InfoCons Association (Romania), Movimento Consumatori (Italy), CONSUMUR (Spain), European Consumers Union (Belgium), National consumer confederation (Lithuania), Union of Working Consumers of Greece (Greece), Cittadinanzattiva (Italy), Association for legal aid to consumers (Bulgaria), TALENTED BORDERS (Latvia), Lithuanian national consumer federation (Lithuania), IMPACT2040 (Latvia), SIBAHE - Slovenian Food Bank (Slovenia), Buy Responsibly Foundation (Poland), ACOP - Associação de Consumidores de Portugal (Portugal).

The initiative aimed to facilitate discussion and highlight the innovative aspects of the OH-FINE project, such as strengthening farmers' capacity to meet citizens' and consumers' needs and expectations. To this end, it is essential that consumers are engaged with and listened to. That's why all project partners — especially those from Spain, Belgium, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland — were invited to join the first session and make initial contact with the associations from their respective countries, with the goal of involving them in national-level activities where desired.

During the event, it was presented the OH-FINE’s Organic Farming Learning Community (OFC), which is intended to serve as a collaborative platform for stakeholders focusing on ecological management, soil health, and market strategies, while supporting stakeholder involvement, engagement, and awareness-raising activities. This was followed by an interactive presentation of the Organic Farming Community Platform, which includes a section dedicated specifically to consumers.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to promote the associations' involvement in project activities, develop key messages to be used in drafting the first factsheet and creating communication materials, including pictures and videos to promote the project across Europe.

EU workshop

29 - 30 April 2026 │ The Building Hotel, Rome

Programme

Wednesday, 29 April 2026 (14:00 – 18:00)

Moderator: Bianca Ferraiolo, Senior Manager EU Affairs, Active Citizenship Network (ACN)

14:00 – 14:30 Introduction & tour the table

Mariano Votta, Director, Active Citizenship Network (ACN)

14:30 – 15:00 Strengthening farmers' capacities while responding to consumers' needs

The OH-FINE project

Raquel Arroyo Palomares, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca (IRNASA-CSIC) – Spain

Q&A

15:00 – 16:00 Spearhead sustainable agricultural practices and organic farming technologies

The OH-FINE Organic Farming Learning Community (OFC)

Lieve De Cock, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – Belgium

The Organic Farming Community Platform

Ángel Adell, EURADIA-BETANIA – Spain

Q&A

16:00 – 16:30 coffee break

16:30 – 18:00 From discussion to common key messages

Collection of the views of participating consumer organisations on a number of key issues related to organic products and consumers' expectations across Europe and co-creation of communication messages

18:00 – 18:30 Next steps

20:00 Networking dinner

Thursday, 30 April 2026 (09:00 – 13:00)

09:00 – 10:30 Finalization of the communication messages

11:00 – 13:00 Video messages and photo shooting

All activities over the two days have been coordinated by the Cittadinanzattiva team:

Veronica Di Marcello, Web & Social Media Marketing Manager

Bianca Ferraiolo, Senior Manager EU Affairs

Cinzia Pollio, Senior Project Manager Consumer Policy

Tiziana Toto, Head of Consumer Policy

Mariano Votta, Head of EU Affairs

To download the participants’ list, click here

To watch the photo gallery on Active Citizenship Network’s LinkedIn page, click here

Read the related article here

Our thanks to all the participants, as well as to our media partner