Speaker

I’m passionate about public speaking and sharing my unique experiences with diverse audiences. Below is a showcase of some of my speeches. If you would like to invite me to speak at your next event, participate in a panel discussion or give a lecture, get in touch by clicking here or sending an email to afton (at) aftonhalloran.com

FUTURE STEPS TO TACKLE OBESITY: DIGITAL INNOVATIONS INTO POLICY AND ACTIONS I spoke about our WHO/Europe NCD Office’s investigation into meal delivery apps and why this issue should be on the public health agenda (My intervention starts at 02:33:17)

EUROPEAN CONGRESS ON OBESITY: During our this session, I spoke about our WHO NCDs Office research on the dietary quality of ultra-processed plant-based foods. 

URBAN DESIGN FOR HEALTH: I spoke about the impact of urban food environments on healthy diets at this WHO/Europe symposium.

HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD 2020: I was invited to speak about how to change the world with food in a How to Academy event curated in partnership with The New York Times.

FIT4FOOD 2030 Final Conference: In my keynote speech, I spoke about bridge builders, knowledge brokers and cross-pollinators, and why transdisciplinarity matters in the transition to healthy, fair and sustainable food systems. The conference intended to broaden the understanding and importance of food system transformation and provide practical tools and solutions for responsible research and innovation for food system transformation.

GreenEST SUMMIT 2020: I provided a keynote presentation on the megatrends influencing the future of food systems in the Nordic-Baltic Region. The GreenEST Summit is the largest annual green tech event in the Nordics.

LAMPA CONVERSATION FESTIVAL: I was invited to speak about some of the future trends in food in the Nordic-Baltic region. The discussion took place at the Latvia’s annual democracy festival. You can watch the discussion here.

FUTURE OF FOOD HACKATHON, LATVIA: I was invited as a keynote speaker and mentor at the 24h hackathon. The hackathon provided a platform to connect students, food innovators, startup founders and leading industry experts to brainstorm, build and validate new ideas with the potential to transform the food sector. (Photo by A. Vegnars)

TECHFESTIVAL, DENMARK: I took part in a panel discussion on the future of food tech together with some colleagues from the SIRI-Commission, a commission set up by Member of Parliament, Ida Auken, and the Danish Society of Engineers to explore the future of technology and artificial intelligence in Denmark.

EIT-FOOD/NORDIC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS LATVIA/RTU DESIGN FACTORY, LATVIA: My talk explored some of the biggest, most interesting and disruptive ideas that are shaping the way we think about the future of food and agriculture.

EUROPEAN FOOD SUMMIT, SLOVENIA: The European Food Summit is bound to a specific mission: to become the most important European culinary event and a unique platform that contributes to the shaping of a sustainable European future. My speech focused on how we can better facilitate transitions to more sustainable food systems on the European continent.

LES NAPOLEONS, FRANCE: We are living in an age of paradox. Never before have our societies been so prosperous, peaceful and connected. Yet never have they faced such deep cultural insecurity, existential anxiety and pessimism. Even putting cynicism aside, a core belief in progress itself has been put into question. As a speaker at Les Napoleons in Val d’Isère, France I spoke about the why the current goals of the modern food system are far from progressive.

COP24 UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE, POLAND: I was invited by the Nordic Council of Ministers to partake in moderated dialogue about the cities-food-climate nexus and how we can create better food futures in urban environments.

GERMAN SOCIETY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (GIZ) TECH2D, GERMANY: In September 2018, I was invited to speak at GIZ’s Tech2d Technology Forum for Sustainable Development in Frankfurt. My talk focused on the creation of human-centered food systems.

NORDIC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, DENMARK: Since September 2017, I have been working as an external consultant for the Nordic Food Policy Lab at the Nordic Council of Ministers. I narrated this introductory video for the Lab about connecting people, food systems and policies.

PARABERE FORUM: In March 2017, I was invited to Parabere Forum in Barcelona. The Forum creates space to discuss issues related to food and gastronomy from women’s perspectives. As the theme of 2017 was redefining sustainability, I chose to beg the question: When are edible insects sustainable?

TEDx LUISS: In May 2016, Roberto Flore and I gave a TEDx talk at LUISS, one of Europe’s best business schools. We used our experiences in the field to explain why culture should be one of the most important arguments for eating insects.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, BRUSSELS: In 2015, I spoke at the European Parliament together with Roberto Flore. Our speech showcased the diversity of edible insects in gastronomy and their potential as novel foods under the new European Novel Food legislation.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS; ITALY: During my time at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), I acted as a spokeswoman for the Insects for Food and Feed Programme.

BLOOMBERG, INTERNATIONAL: I also interacted a lot with the media while I was at the FAO. Here is one of my interviews on Bloomberg TV.

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