From September 20 to 26, 2026, during New York Climate Week and the UN General Assembly High-Level Week, the Future Food Institute will open CONVIVIUM, an international hub in the heart of the East Village dedicated to the Mediterranean Diet and to food as a tool for diplomacy and international cooperation.
Located at 377 East 8th Street, CONVIVIUM will be an international home where the table becomes a method for dialogue, cooperation and action. The project draws inspiration from one of the pillars of the Mediterranean Diet – conviviality, the practice of sharing food to build community, trust and responsibility.
Promoted by the Future Food Institute together with Venice Climate Week, the Mediterranean Diet Study Center in Pollica and the FAO Global Roadmap team, CONVIVIUM will bring together institutions, scientists, cities, businesses and communities. Food will serve as a common language, while gastrodiplomacy will become a tool for building trust and alliances around some of today’s major challenges, including water, health, climate, culture and peace.
In the Mediterranean Diet, conviviality is not simply about sharing a meal. It is a practice that brings together relationships, hospitality, the transmission of knowledge, care and a sense of belonging. In New York, the Future Food Institute intends to transform this cultural heritage into a contemporary infrastructure for diplomacy.
Breakfasts, workshops, tastings, scientific sessions and dinners will be designed as working tables. Each gathering will focus on a specific theme, with hosts and participants working to generate useful connections, commitments and continuity.
“Conviviality is one of the pillars of the Mediterranean Diet,” said Sara Roversi, President of the Future Food Institute and EU Climate Pact Ambassador. “Sitting at the same table means sharing food, knowledge and responsibility. In New York, we are transforming this principle into gastrodiplomacy, creating a space where institutions, science, territories, cities and communities can build trust and move from conversations to action.”
CONVIVIUM will serve as the Future Food Institute’s home during New York Climate Week, with morning meetings beginning at 7:00 a.m. and evening gatherings starting at 8:00 p.m.
The mission will open on September 20 at 8:00 p.m. with “Systems Change & Regenerative Leadership,” an evening gathering with members of the Club of Rome. The discussion will connect regenerative food systems, ecological resilience and new models of leadership, governance and economic transformation.
Five major events will follow, beginning September 23 at Pless Hall at New York University, where the Mediterranean Diet will enter the U.S. debate as an integrated model for prevention, public health, sustainability, education and cultural diplomacy.
The New York program will also address water diplomacy, resilient cities, biodiversity, regenerative prosperity and the transition from international strategies to concrete local action. Pollica and its Mediterranean experience will play a central role, bringing to the United States an Italian model connecting food, water, marine biodiversity, education, research and community participation.
The initiative will also help build momentum toward the first observance of the International Day of the Mediterranean Diet on November 16, 2026.
