Carla Ulrich
social scientist, food activist, curator, photographer, fermenter
I am a French-German social scientist, food activist, curator, photographer, and fermenter, passionate about understanding the socio-economic complexity of sustainable food production. Next to speaking and writing about it, I am proud to develop solutions on the field with Die Gemeinschaft, a movement uniting Germany’s pioneering food producers and gastronomes.
As a social scientist trained at Humboldt University of Berlin (B.A.), I am interested in understanding how to advance inclusive food system transitions – remaining within biophysical bounds of regeneration, while curbing social inequalities. To familiarise myself with practical food policy, I completed Slow Food Germany’s Academy programme in 2019. My academic work was presented in the peer-reviewed journal for emerging researchers PolisReflects, at the 6th International Student Research Conference, and in a panel discussion on sustainable food systems.
Taking this theoretical and practical understanding of the status quo, I develop pathways to improve it as an organiser and communications lead of Die Gemeinschaft. Next to that, I have been taking on a leading role at Slow Food Youth Germany, supporting political campaigning and joining its communications team in 2020. In 2018, I co-founded the non-profit organization Forward Thinking Berlin, dedicated to empowering young environmental and social initiatives.
Because the profound socio-ecological transformations we are facing need to be negotiated collectively, I previously worked as a program curator at re:publica, Europe’s largest conference on the digital societies. With my expertise around food sovereignty and the sustainable development goals, I’ve organized conversations across six international festivals in Berlin, Accra, LA, Detroit, and Portland, involving civil society, policy makers and academia.
Born in Germany and raised in France, I speak fluent German, French, English, and confident Italian. I complement my work with self-taught photography, which I’ve been practicing since 2010 and has been published by Markthalle Neun, Slow Food Germany, Die Gemeinschaft and others.
When I’m not doing any of that, I like to ferment fizzy drinks! You can watch my water kefir tutorial on Fermentiersalon, and find recipes I’ve co-developed in Slow Food Magazin (issue 03/2021).
Get in touch: ulrich.carla [at] yahoo.fr