I would like to share a brief periodic update on our ongoing activities with you, along with a reflection that I believe is important for us all.
• 2027 Congress
We have begun preparations for the 2027 Congress, gradually establishing the Organizing Committee and—in the near future—the Scientific Committee.
We plan to launch the phase for defining the Congress themes and objectives by the end of November; at the same time, we will open the registration system, which will offer a reduced fee for members of the Coordination network.
The Council is scheduled to meet on October 8th, and we expect to make formal decisions regarding these matters then.
The official Congress webpage is already online; we will continue to update and enrich it as work progresses: https://www.aemednetwork.org/aemed2027/
• The Mediterranean Network
The Mediterranean Network portal has been active since September 1st, and many of you have already signed up.
If you have not yet registered, or if you encountered any issues during the process, please let us know.
The portal—available at this link: https://aemednetwork.org/weaemed/ —will serve as a hub where we can view the profiles of Network participants. It will also allow us to share information, news, applied research, technical innovations, calls for proposals, and other resources via the member mailing list—all contributing to the growth and dissemination of agroecology culture. • “Roots for the Future: Plant Your Tree”
I would also like to remind you that the “Roots for the Future: Plant Your Tree” initiative is currently active; you can find it at the following link: https://www.coordinamentoagroecologia.org/crowdfunding/
Farms wishing to participate can join this program, and to date, 541 trees have already been donated—and largely planted—resulting in an estimated sequestration of 811,500 kg of CO₂.
I ask for your help in spreading the word about the program by sharing it with your contacts and with businesses you believe might be interested in participating.
• “Support an Agroecological Farm”
Finally, among the many initiatives launched, I would like to highlight the “Support an Agroecological Farm” program, available at this link: https://coordinamentoagroecologia.org/donazioniagroecologia/
Launched in 2026, this program will be progressively expanded with the goal of creating a genuine network of organic and agroecological products. These can be purchased using a card that—in addition to offering benefits and discounts—actively “generates” agroecology by providing concrete support to the farms and the production model they represent.
Please feel free to share this initiative with your contacts and with farms interested in participating.
Lastly, a point of a different nature.
The *Coordinamento Agroecologia Sicilia* (Agroecology Coordination of Sicily) does not belong to me, to Valentina Palmeri, or to the Board. It is not a piece of property, nor should it simply become someone’s personal organization.
It is an organization that aims to “infect” people, territories, and culture. And perhaps, even more so, it is a cultural movement through which we can attempt to shift our mindset toward a new era—an era we hope will be founded on dialogue, cooperation, and peace.
Yet, without dialogue and open exchange, the goals of peace risk remaining a mere illusion.
All the demands, protests, and anger regarding events in so many parts of the world are understandable and, often, necessary. It is worth noting that, as of October 2nd, official sources report approximately 65 ongoing armed conflicts worldwide. These conflicts breed injustice, suffering, and death, all too often claiming victims among children and the poor, the vulnerable, and the innocent.
However, indignation alone is not enough.
Without concrete action, there is a risk that suffering on one side and a sense of powerlessness on the other will create an ever-widening social divide—potentially even undermining the very small steps toward peace that we strive to achieve.
On one side, there are those who suffer; on the other, a segment of the population that watches, feels outraged, and protests, yet all too often stops there. It is as if indignation could—unconsciously—become a sort of excuse for not taking the actions that might truly help change the status quo.
And this is perhaps the main point of my message.
We must transform ourselves from spectators into protagonists, from observers into builders.
We must try to turn negativity into positivity, inertia into action, and resignation into responsibility. We must transform hatred and walls—wherever they are erected and against whichever people they are directed—into dialogue, connection, and humanity.
Peace cannot simply be something we ask of others. It must also become something we build, day by day, through our choices and our behavior.
We will all bear responsibility for this if we are unwilling to dedicate at least one hour of our time each day without expecting gratitude, money, or recognition in return—indeed, while accepting the possibility of facing criticism or misunderstanding, or of not seeing immediate results from our efforts.
This is what I ask of you. And this is, above all, what I ask of myself.
I know that many of us have been doing this for a long time. I know there are so many people who work, help, build, and commit themselves every day, often quietly.
But perhaps today that is no longer enough.
Perhaps the time has come to take a further step: not merely to denounce what is not working, but to try—in concrete terms—to build what we would like to see in its place.
Let us fight the culture of hatred and walls by building a true culture of peace.
And let us try, at least for a moment, to set aside the labels, affiliations, and flags we carry within us. Not because they lack meaning, but because—when they become more important than people—they can turn into the most dangerous excuse humanity has ever created. Peace begins here, too: with the ability to recognize the other person before their affiliations, the willingness to listen before judging, and the resolve to build—day by day—something greater than ourselves.
Guido Bissanti
