At FOODITY, we participated in the Webit and Future Forum events held in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 23 and 24 October 2024. FOODITY’s partner, FS6 Innovation, showcased our project’s mission, vision and results in empowering citizens with data-driven solutions for healthier and more sustainable food choices and raised awareness of personal data sovereignty in food and nutrition. This edition of Webit, themed ‘Sustainable AI Future for Humans & Robots’, brought together global thought leaders, policymakers, business representatives, and media to explore innovations and technology trends shaping the future of key industries, businesses, and humanity.
As part of the F6S Innovation booth, FOODITY was featured among other EU-funded projects focused on technology and sustainability. In addition to leaflets introducing the project and our Open Call #1 innovators, and a video shown on a screen, the FOODITY shelf featured our PhotoVoice Workshops book — a compilation of photos and insights from three workshops we held in Austria, Bulgaria and Portugal to explore citizens’ perceptions of data privacy and sovereignty concerning food and nutrition. It also displayed The Kitchen Adventure app, one of the six projects funded through our first Open Call, inviting visitors to identify ingredients from one of their healthy and delicious recipes.
Engaging attendees to learn about personal data sovereignty
In addition to promoting FOODITY, we took the chance to organise an interactive activity to raise awareness about personal data sovereignty in food and nutrition.
To assess participants’ knowledge and spark conversations around this topic, we invited them to take a short quiz titled ‘Take control of your personal food and nutrition data’. After completing the quiz, participants could evaluate their understanding of key personal data-related concepts and the importance of data in food systems and receive feedback through their scores.
Over 40 attendees took part in this six-question quiz. The quiz results indicated a good understanding of the topics covered. The average score was 5.3 out of 6 (each question was worth 1 point).
The questions with the highest scores (93% correct answers) asked about (1) personal data rights under data protection laws like GDPR and (2) how to verify that digital platforms respect personal data sovereignty.
On the other hand, the question with the lowest score (83% correct answers) addressed the meaning of data sovereignty, suggesting that there’s still some confusion around this specific term. Although the correct answer is related to “the right to control how personal data is collected, used, and shared”, several respondents associated it with “the right of governments to control all data in a country” or “the ability of companies to store data wherever they like.”
Although the survey was completely anonymous, two optional questions gave us insight into the demographic profile of respondents: nearly 75% were between the ages of 30 and 45, and over 80% were women.
Positive engagement and interest in data literacy
This activity allowed us to engage directly with attendees, who showed openness and interest in participating, and to assess their interest in data literacy. Many were keen on knowing what questions they eventually got wrong and understanding why, demonstrating interest in understanding data sovereignty.
This positive response highlights the relevance of FOODITY’s mission. It suggests that our ongoing awareness-raising efforts can help citizens learn more about their data rights and take control of their personal data, especially in digital environments — and contribute to creating healthier and more sustainable food systems.
Big thanks to the Webit and Future Forum organisers, the participants who engaged with us and shared their insights, and our colleagues Samuel Almeida and Nika Levikov from F6S Innovation for representing FOODITY and driving meaningful conversations around data sovereignty!
The FOODITY awareness-raising campaign
At FOODITY, we are dedicated to advancing solutions that foster healthier, more sustainable food systems for people and the planet. As part of this mission, we are developing a campaign to increase citizen awareness around the role of food and nutrition data in promoting healthy diets and environmentally friendly food systems.
This activity is just one example of how we are involving citizens in the change towards better food systems.
Follow our progress using our campaign hashtag on social media: #FoodDataForChange
Visit our News site, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (X) to keep up with our campaign activities.