Annual Report 2017 and financial report

This is the annual report on activities of the Amsterdam Centre for World Food Studies (ACWFS) for 2017 and the Financial Report for the entire funding period upto May 1, 2018. With these reports, we comply with requirements of the Grant from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs, but we also offer an interesting view on the diversity of activities undertaken within ACWFS . The reporting period has been one in which the contours of the main activities undertaken by the new Centre become increasingly visible. The main activities center around research, education, outreach and dissemination, and project acquisition. In this report you will read a summary of notable activities in these areas which were started in the reporting period or for which major progress can be highlighted. I already like to mention one of the past Centre’s highlights in particular, namely the Opening Symposium organized in October 2017. This event marked the official opening of the ACWFS with inspiring keynote addresses and showcasing new initiatives in food and nutrition security research and education at VU Amsterdam. It was also a celebration of the long tradition of food and nutrition security research at our university providing the foundations to further strengthen food and nutrition security research at VU. The final part of the report provides an overview of the ways in which the grant has been used to support the establishment of the Center, from the inception to the status at December 31, 2017. I would like to thank the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs for their financial and moral support to ACWFS in this period. I am also proud of my ACWFS colleagues who contributed immensely to the Centre’s activities that are reported here.