How can ambitious food systems policies translate into lasting change? Reflections from the First Global Conscious Food Systems Summit, held in Paro, Bhutan, from 1 to 4 September 2026, highlight the role of leadership, trust and collaboration in strengthening policy coherence. Hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Conscious Food Systems Alliance, the Summit brought together nearly 400 participants from around 65 countries to explore how mindsets, values and relationships influence food systems transformation.

A workshop on Leadership for Policy Coherence and Transformative Governance, organized by the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems Programme and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, brought together policy leaders and practitioners from several countries and the Himalayan region. Discussions emphasized that governance depends not only on technical mechanisms, such as interministerial coordination and shared indicators, but also on the capacity to listen, build trust, recognize competing priorities and create space for dialogue. Experiences from Bhutan, Lebanon, Switzerland, Finland and the Himalayan Agroecology Initiative illustrated how leadership can support cooperation across institutions and communities, including where policies exist but remain fragmented or unevenly implemented.

The exchanges identified systems thinking, humility, transparency, empathy and the ability to convene diverse actors as practical governance capacities. Participants also highlighted the importance of combining scientific evidence with Indigenous and traditional knowledge, lived experience and local realities, while making policy trade-offs and their distributional consequences more visible. By fostering shared responsibility and public ownership, conscious leadership can help institutions work across mandates and sustain collective action towards more coherent and inclusive food systems transformation.