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VIII. World Organic Forum
Monday, 30 June - Tuesday, 1 July 2025
From Revolt to Rights:
The Struggle for Peasants' Justice Then and Now
500 years ago, farmers in central Europe fought for their basic human rights. Seven years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted a declaration on the current rights of farmers around the world. The Stiftung Haus der Bauern (The House of Farmers Foundation) lobbied the UN Human Rights Council to bring about the declaration.
Now let’s take a closer look at its impact: Have any farmers' organizations around the world actually invoked these guaranteed UN rights? Or is the declaration primarily relevant to emerging economies, where many farmers continue to live on the margins of society? And where do we stand with forms of oppression of farmers in Europe?
The 8th World Organic Forum is yet again taking another turn - we are discussing whether the declaration has been implemented over the past six years and what significance it holds for farmers today.
Certainly, land rights and intellectual property rights related to seeds and rare species are among the most critical aspects of the Declaration. Across Europe, various actors are actively working to implement UNDROP at both the European and national levels, aiming to advance the rights of peasants and support the development of resilient, sustainable food systems grounded in food sovereignty and the right to food for all.
At the World Organic Forum 2025 we are bringing together experts and actors who have been tirelessly working on the implementation and enforcement of Peasant Rights in Europe and beyond and will discuss opportunities and barriers in nowadays social, political and economic landscapes.
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How do we find Common Ground when rapid change is needed? Local sovereignty and peace are directly interrelated with just food systems around the globe, ultimately creating healthy ecosystems, for healthy people and communities.
To overcome our presumed divisions, the 7th World Organic Forum 2024 brought together people from all over the world to discuss inclusive, non-dogmatic approaches. The forum explored how to synergistically integrate diverse agricultural concepts to regenerate agrifood ecosystems while restoring agency to the farmers and people working on the land.
The World Organic Forum, a global conference on development and agricultural policy, was held at Kirchberg Castle, Germany from 1 - 3 July 2024 in Kirchberg/Jagst, Germany. Since 2023, the Akademie Schloss Kirchberg (Academy for Organic Agriculture and Food) has increasingly focused on agronomic and agri-cultural aspects of the 2030 Agenda in addition to development policy aspects. The 7th World Organic Forum 2024 concentrated on the triad of organic farming, agroecology, and regenerative agriculture, providing a platform to consider all three agricultural concepts in terms of their potential and contribution to increasing climate resilience and as tools for ecological, economic, and social value creation.
It is particularly important to Akademie Schloss Kirchberg to facilitate new synergies and partnerships in its field of activity at the interface between agriculture, the food economy, rural regional development and global development cooperation. The aim is to create spaces characterised by openness and appreciation for indigenous cultures, agricultural practices and approaches to holistic ecological, economic, social, cultural and political value creation.
