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2006 - 06 -
International Slow Food NEWS |
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1. Letter from Carlo Petrini: New Leadership for Slow Food Italy
I have just returned, like some 350 Italian delegates, from the 6th
Slow Food Italia Congress, which took place June 9-11 in Sanremo,
Italy. It was a stimulating, momentous occasion that offered us a
chance to recognize the organization's extraordinary growth.
The Italian association has decided to create 100 school gardens
over the next few years to pursue its educational mission. It will
also establish 100 local markets for small producers – made possible
only with the help of our convivia – to do something tangible in the
way of shortening the food supply chain. These projects are
extremely important and fit perfectly within Slow Food's mission and
vision for the world.
At Sanremo Slow Food Italia's governance was redefined, with a new
Governors' Council, the confirmation of National Secretary Silvio
Barbero and, perhaps the biggest new development, a change in
leadership of the Italian assocation. I have stepped down from the
presidency, which has been taken up by Roberto Burdese. This young
president is ideal for guiding Slow Food Italia into the future.
I will continue in my post as president of the international
association, concentrating on the more global aspects of Slow Food,
the University of Gastronomic Sciences and the Terra Madre network.
Having a new Italian president has another important significance:
we are a large, far-reaching movement, and the various national
associations are all equally important. History tells us that our
roots are Italian, but our identity today is international. The fact
that I am no longer president of both the Italian and the
international associations means that SF Italia, with its numerous
members, continues to have a place within an ever-growing context.
This will allow us to keep an internal equilibrium and clear
guidelines without overlapping roles. We will be better equipped to
respond to the challenges that lay ahead – challenges to which all
of us, no matter what country, will inevitably confront and
undertake.
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2. Terra Madre Update
Fundraising Is More Important Than Ever
With only five months until the event, we encourage all convivium
leaders to begin raising money for Terra Madre through convivium
activities if they haven't already. Given the vast scale of this
event, it demands all of our energy and exhausts our resources; we
ask for your generous contributions to ensure its success. For
example, the convivia in the USA are raising money through numerous
fundraising dinners. This is one way local Slow Food chapters can
begin to contribute.
We ask you to use every occasion to raise money to help us meet our
fundraising objectives: ��500, ��1,000 and ��1,500. This money will
help cover travel expenses of delegates from developing countries,
for which transportation to and from Italy is both difficult and
costly.
The convivia that reach even the minimum aforementioned amounts will
receive a certificate naming them a "Convivium of Terra Madre",
demonstrating our gratitude to those who have contributed to our
cause.
For a participation form or more information about how to join this
initiative, please contact Cetty Baiamonte at the Terra Madre
Foundation (tel. +39 0172 419729,
c.baiamonte@slowfood.com).
Please send any suggestions for individuals, institutions and
companies that may be able to make financial contributions to Terra
Madre 2006 to Riccardo Sauvaigne,
r.sauvaigne@slowfood.it or tel. +39 0172 419709.
Meetings in Benin and Uzbekistan
An African symposium on fair trade held April 6-9 in Cotonou, Benin,
was attended by numerous West African Terra Madre communities.
Issues discussed included fair trade and local development in
Africa; fair trade problems relating to cotton, crafts, shea butter
and processed fruit – the four key production groups represented at
the symposium; fair trade in the dynamics of regional integration
and commercial negotiation.
On May 20 the village of Brichmulla in the province of Tashkent held
an International Biodiversity Day. The first edition of this event
was organized one year ago by the Tashkent Slow Food convivium,
founded by four communities who attended Terra Madre in 2004. Also
supported by tourist associations, the event has garnered widespread
enthusiasm from the public, environmentalists and the media.
This year it was able to expand thanks to participation from all
seven of the small towns that are home to the Terra Madre
communities of Uzbekistan. The highly successful demonstration aimed
to draw the public's attention to the importance of protecting
natural areas and regional culture.
During the festival there were concerts and children's performances
highlighting environmental protection; exhibitions by regional
folkloric groups; exhibitions of local homemade clothing and
furnishings; tastings and workshops on the history of Uzbekistani
dishes.
Brichmulla is also home to a new Terra Madre community of producers
that cultivate various types of almonds, hazelnuts, and apricots and
produce a mountain honey. With these ingredients, they make
traditional desserts (khachtak), the recipe of which is still
kept secret today.
For more information about Terra Madre, visit
www.terramadre2006.org.
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3. News from the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
Native Harvest Assists the Anishinaabeg
Food access is a huge problem for the Anishinaabeg people in
Minnesota. Living on tribal lands two and a half hours away from the
nearest village, and without a car at their disposal, they collect
wild rice not out of a desire for self-sufficiency but out of
necessity. Consequently, unscrupulous people fill trucks with food
waste from the village and bring it to the reservation to resell at
higher prices, damaging both the community's economy and the native
population's health.
The Native Harvest organization is led by Winona La Duke, (winner of
the SF Biodiversity Award and a plenary speaker at Terra Madre 2004)
and works to provide the poorest families in the community with free
distribution of natural products produced by members of the
organization. She has also opened a small emporium/café on the
reservation.
Read more about Native Harvest and its work with Slow Food and the
Manoomin presidium.
This request highlights the increased understanding in native
communities of their needs and rights since involvement in Terra
Madre 2004. This year even more tribes and native peoples will be
participating in Terra Madre.
New Presidium in Egypt
The oldest and most valued date varieties can be found in Libya and
Egypt. Cultivated in Egypt near the Libyan border, high quality,
flavorful Siwi dates are no exception.
They are produced in Siwa's completely sustainable "oasis system".
Utilizing the desalination of the earth, small-scale farmers mix
sand with goat dung and grow medicinal herbs in order to prepare the
soil for the cultivation of palm, olive and pomegranate trees;
instead of fungicides, they use compost made out of palm leaves.
An organization of producers from various tribes and villages
dealing with agriculture and handicrafts has been established in the
oasis. The Italian Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has also been guiding an eco-tourism project in the oasis for
several years.
- Visit the
Foundation website for more information and news about Slow
Food's Ark and Presidia projects.
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4. UNISG News
The University of Gastronomic Sciences is still accepting
applications for the three-year undergraduate degree course and the
Master in Food Culture: Communicating Quality Products for the
academic year 2006/2007. Applications can be completed online and
are free and non-binding.
More information on degree-course applications:
http://www.unisg.it/eng/preiscrizionilaurea.php
The students of the first year of the degree course will be on stage
June 26 to July 7 on stage in the Rhône Valley area of France and in
Styria, Austria, studying local productions, typical foods and
regional culture, agriculture and economy.
In May, Master in Gastronomic Sciences and Quality Products students
went on stage in Sicily and Spain and the Master in Food Culture:
Communicating Quality Products students visited the Burgundy region
in France.
Convivium leaders worldwide have been instrumental in organizing
many of UNISG's stages. If you are interested in helping to organize
a stage or have suggestions for regions rich in food culture or
renowned for their gastronomy, please contact Fulvio Silvestri,
tutor@unisg.it.
Visit the
UNISG website for more information and other news.
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5.
Focus on Convivia
Journées Internationales du Grenache
>From June 25-26, Colliure is hosting the fifth edition of this
event dedicated to the grenache varietal and organized by the
Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Roussillon convivia in France and the
Tarragona (Tarraco) Convivium in Spain.
About fifty wine makers will be offering visitors tastings. Four
Taste Workshops focus not only on grenache, but also on 'guest
varietal' chenin, which is comparable to grenache in its ability to
highlight the craftsmanship of the winemaker.
Two round table discussions will complete the two-day program. This
year's event takes place at the splendid Collioure Castle, a
wonderful fortified citadel set against the Mediterranean along the
French coast near Spain.
SuperWhites in London
Slow Food London hosts SuperWhites for the second time July 7 at
Vinopolis (1 Bank End, London, SE1 9BU).
This event offers a tasting of around one hundred of the best white
wines and gastronomic specialities from Friuli Venezia Giulia. The
Grand Tasting will be an opportunity to sample extraordinary wines,
ask questions and discuss winemaking with the men and women who make
Friuli Venezia Giulia a world-class wine region. A Workshop will
also be held for professionals and other wine lovers. Places at the
Workshop are limited and must be booked in advance.
For more information, visit
slowfoodlondon.com.
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6. Major Events & Projects
International Council Meeting
The annual meeting of the Slow Food International Council took place
June 17-18. Stay tuned to the next edition of the Leader Update
for a recap.
Special Services at Salone del Gusto
At Salone del Gusto this October the International Office of Slow
Food would like to offer some special services to those convivium
leaders that organize groups of members and/or non-members for the
events in Turin. Slow Food will also provide passes for both the
Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre to all convivium leaders. More
information will be sent to you shortly.
SF France Congress
Representatives from French convivia will assemble in Tarbes, at the
foot of the Pyrenees June 24 and 25 for SF France's national
congress. On June 24 the delegates will visit the
Bigorre Gascony Black Pig Presiidum and induct Carlo Petrini as
a Grand Master in the Brotherhood of the Bigorre Black Pig. On the
25th, the assembly will discuss and decide the strategy for the next
few years. |
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8. Slow Food in the International Press
-"Intelligence
gastronomique", by Pier Groppo, Vogue France, France, May 1,
2006 (in French)
The snail: sign of a revolution? This is the meaning behind the
mascot of Slow Food, an eco-gastronomic movement that is reinvening
the act of eating from Italy to San Francisco.
-"Slow
Food founder visits UNH", by Linda A. Odum, Concord Monitor,
USA, May 17, 2006
Carlo Petrini receives an honorary degree from the University of
New Hampshire |
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9. Change of Fax Number
The International Office has a new fax number: +39 0172 419725.
Please update your records; the old number is no longer in use.
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