A new space of social, academic, and territorial interest will be inaugurated in the coming days in the city of General Roca: it is the Observatory of Food Education (OdEA), created by the National University of Río Negro (UNRN), Alto Valle and Valle Medio headquarters.
The project, unprecedented in the country, aims to promote cultural and pedagogical changes regarding human nutrition, understood as a complex, multidimensional phenomenon deeply rooted in daily life.
The initiative is led by Nora Bahamonde, Ph.D. in Didactics of Experimental Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who highlighted that the observatory aims to generate social impact through research, dissemination, and citizen education in food education.
An integral approach to transform food practices
The OdEA is proposed as a regional, national, and international reference center, focused on surveying, systematizing, and disseminating experiences, programs, and educational projects related to healthy, culturally situated, and environmentally responsible nutrition. Its scope includes both formal educational systems and non-conventional learning spaces.
“We want to build an interactive environment that enables new perspectives for thinking, communicating, and teaching about nutrition,” Bahamonde told Diario Río Negro.
The observatory is institutionally part of the Center for Studies and Research in Education (CEIE) of UNRN, led by researcher Eduardo Lozano, who also serves as the general advisor of the project.
Territorial articulation, database, and citizen education
Among its main lines of work, the OdEA will focus on:
- Surveying innovative initiatives in food education at the local, national, and international levels
- Analyzing designs, results, and learnings from existing programs
- Promoting collaboration agreements between universities, productive institutions, and social organizations
- Contributing to the development of public policies with a comprehensive and multi-referenced approach
Official presentation and interdisciplinary participation
The official presentation of the OdEA will take place on Friday, October 17 at 3:00 p.m., at the Main Auditorium of the Alto Valle and Valle Medio Headquarters of UNRN, within the framework of the Regional Biology Teaching Conference and the 4th Meeting of Students and Graduates conducting research in Education.
The team that integrates the observatory is composed of teachers, researchers, professionals, and students from various disciplines, including Biology, Dentistry, and Food Engineering.
In addition to Bahamonde and Lozano, researchers Juan Carlos Pintos, Marina Alejandra Henríquez Acosta, Fabián Enrique Rodríguez, and Agustina Portiño participate, along with students Noemy Esther Chambí, Fernando Rubén Nestares, and Luis Armando Gonzalves.
“We hope that the OdEA becomes a key tool to strengthen citizen education and the design of public policies that recognize nutrition as a right, a cultural practice, and an essential educational dimension,” Lozano concluded.
