Cultures of expertise: Academics in exile and their role in the future food security agenda for Syria (SyrianFoodFutures)

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Aims: The SyrianFoodFutures project aims to establish a network of diverse expertise between Syrian, Turkish & UK researchers, practitioners & decision-makers so that local cultural & technical knowledge & experience can be incorporated into socio-economic development & reconstruction programmes to ensure a successful transition away from humanitarian provision of short-term food supplies & agriculture inputs towards long-term contingency planning for food security & adequate nutrition. The Challenge: Sustainable Development Goal attainment is severely compromised not only in fragile & conflict-affected countries (FCAS, such as Syria) but also in LMIC countries which host their refugee populations (such as Turkey, Jordan & Lebanon). Under conditions of protracted conflict, food production, availability, distribution & consumption is compromised with attendant effects on food insecurity & malnutrition. There is also extensive loss of in-country human & intellectual capital as academics are displaced from high risk areas as a matter of safety & security. Local knowledge, connection & expertise offered by Syrian academics in exile in the Levant is a major part of Syria's intellectual & cultural capital that has so far, been largely ignored by the intelligence gathering & analysis activities informing humanitarian responses to the crisis. Furthermore, certain cultures of expertise (such as the arts & humanities) are often de-prioritised by decision-makers & funding bodies in favour of investments in projects which improve physical capital (infrastructure, technology & agricultural inputs) & natural resources to address immediate humanitarian food & health security needs. As a result, relevant, context-specific intelligence & expertise may be neglected or excluded from IGO, NGO- or government-led social & development programmes. The consequences are that some interventions may not be compatible with consumption habits, local practices, or growing conditions; agricultural inputs (such as new cultivars) may be supplied in advance of suitability testing & without knowledge of any long-term unintended consequences on local species. Anticipated Outcomes: This project will strengthen partnerships between UK researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh, Kent & Aberdeen, & Syrian academics Council for At-Risk Academics (Syria Programme) who are living in Syria & in exile in Turkey, Jordan & Lebanon. It will facilitate opportunities to build trusted relationships between scientists, academics & decision-makers to promote integration of cultural & technical knowledge & expertise in international decision-making & strategy development efforts for long-term future of Syria. We will use foresighting approaches (e.g. scenario planning) to create a platform for dialogue between diverse groups of stakeholders, in which we will explore a diverse set of plausible long-term futures for agriculture & food production in Syria. This will allow us to co-construct sustainable, locally-informed strategies for research & education to meet future needs. This approach will be informed & grounded by foundation research led by Syrian academics (from the arts & humanities & agriculture & food security networks within the Cara Syria Programme) to explore the history & impact of cultural & religious practice on agriculture & food production, preparation & consumption through different disciplinary lenses - including Syrian folklore & music. This will be complemented by ethnographic research about the impact of the conflict on current food environments (in Syria, Turkey, Jordan & Lebanon). The Syrian Humming Project will seek to commemorate the accompanying emotional & psychological aspects of food (in)security through an interactive online soundscape developed from a collection of hums & related ethnographic narratives from displaced Syrian communities so that these collective memories, will not be forgotten in the future.