Members' network forum - 11 November 2025
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Helena Buckley: TastEd, UK
Updates on the school ambassador programme of TasteEd, the UK charity for sensory food education.
A former teaching assistant with a masters in the Anthropology of Food, Helena believes that changing our food system can solve the interwoven issues of environmental health, human health and inequality – and this starts with education.
Tan Mei Wan: the Rasa project, Singapore
Mei Wan formally trained as a food engineer and started her career as a pastry chef. She most recently worked in the food tech and sustainability space. The rasa project www.rasaproject.com is a grassroots initiative started in Singapore, empowering educators and families with sensory food workshops starting in preschools.
Vladimír Čejna: Sapere method in Czech & Slovak Republic
Vladimir works in research & development at Savencia Fromage & Dairy, and is involved in modern production technologies and the functional and nutritional properties of products. Vladimir is dedicated to promoting the SAPERE method in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and in 2024 published a SAPERE manual in the Czech language.
Helsinki Food Education Symposium 2024
The Finnish Association for Food Education Ruukku, together with Sapere International and the PromoKids network, organised an international food education event in October 2024.
The Helsinki Food Education Symposium brought together over 70 participants from 18 countries. The two-day symposium explored a wide range of topics, including the development of school meals, digital tools for food education, and strategies for preventing childhood obesity.
In addition to the seminar, international guests had the opportunity to experience a Finnish school lunch firsthand during a visit to a local primary school. Participants also took part in workshops on current food education themes, engaged in hands-on Sapere activities, and networked during a dinner featuring Japanese food education.
Feedback from the event was positive:
“My knowledge of how school meals and food education works across different European countries has massively increased, I particularly loved the school visit”
“There is potential in food education that is not in use yet!”
“The main goal of a Food Educator is not to make children eat well. The main goal is to make children want to eat well.”
You can explore the detailed program and keynote speakers at Ruukku’s website: https://ruokakasvatus.fi/helsinki-food-education-symposium/
SAPERE e-conference 2022
SAPERE symposium 2019
