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2006 - 08 -
International Slow Food NEWS |
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1.
Convivial Pursuits
Several months ago, we
began a very important project that we call Convivial Pursuits: A
guide to organizing Slow Food activities, projects and events.
We started off by gathering material on the events and activities
organized by convivia. Today, each of the more than 800 convivia
around the world organizes different activities for members or the
public in order to share the Slow Food philosophy, just as we
organize major international events, like Salone del Gusto or Terra
Madre. This guide will become a tool available to all convivium
leaders for them to share experiences and to use in organizing their
convivium activities.
Together with you, we would like to prepare a guide that offers up
the best examples out there, from the Biodiversity Day organized by
the food community in Uzbekistan to strawberry tastings at the
farmers' market in Thunder Bay, Canada; from fundraising dinners to
help establish Slow Food UK to that organized in Perth, Australia,
to benefit 18 local food producers. Convivial Pursuits will
be created in electronic format, available on-line, and it will have
a section witth examples of activities that raise awareness of a
special food or wine, educate children and involve producers.
Another section will describe the steps and considerations that are
most important in organizing an event, like planning, communication
and finding sponsors.
The group working on this guide is made up of staff from Bra
headquarters and several convivium leaders from around the world
(Germany, the USA, France, Kenya and other countries). In
particular, Gino Bortoletto of Slow Food Treviso, Italy, has
generously offered to share his extensive experience as a convivium
leader. We invite you to join us in this endeavor and to tell us all
about your best experiences. You can contact your area coordinator
to do so, or write to Sarah Cappeliez,
s.cappeliez@slowfood.com. |
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2. Terra
Madre Update
The Terra Madre Blog is live!
The Terra Madre Blog is a communication tool for everyone involved
in Terra Madre – not just the food communities, cooks and academics
that are the focus of Terra Madre 2006, but also Slow Food convivium
leaders, Terra Madre coordinators, University of Gastronomic
Sciences students, associations and NGOs that help us communicate
with food communities and collaborate with Slow Food on projects and
people all over the world who are part of the Terra Madre Network.
The blog is a way to connect everyone within this Network and can
also be read by those outside the immediate Terra Madre community.
This is the place to put all your questions, answers, photos,
experiences, concerns – anything you wish to share with the rest of
the Terra Madre Network. You can write any time you like and as much
as you like.
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Australian
Delegation
There will be 12 food communities representing Australia at Terra
Madre 2006. These food communities range from biodynamic flour
producers to tropical fruit growers from Queensland, reprersenting
the diversity in sustainable agriculture in Australia, while meeting
the Good, Clean and Fair ethos of Slow Food. A number of convivia
have been busy fundraising to help these participants attend Terra
Madre 2006. The food communities are all excited about attending
Terra Madre and have started exploring and building their networks
at a local level. Without the support of the convivia, many of the
participants would not be able to attend. Many thanks should go to
all for the efforts made by these convivia to support Terra Madre.
One of the convivia that exceeded expectations in raising funds was
the Slow Food Perth convivium, which not only ran an event that
raised over AUS$1,500, but also approached the Minister for
Agriculture, the Hon Kim Chance, securing funding for 6 participants
to go to Terra Madre, and raising over AUS$15,000. All participants
would not have been able to attend Terra Madre without this
assistance from the convivium. |
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Once again,
we ask that you please use every occasion to raise money to help
cover travel expenses of delegates from developing countries, for
which transportation to and from Italy is both difficult and costly.
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.
For more information about Terra Madre, visit
www.terramadre2006.org.
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3. News
from the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
Food Communities Affected by Middle East Conflict
Clashes between Lebanon and Israel these past two weeks have
inevitably affected the people with whom we work.
The new Lebanese Kechek el fougara Cheese Presidium was scheduled to
launch shortly, but due to the outburst of conflict, Christian and
Muslim producers from the Earth&Co cooperative have had to evacuate
the area, leaving their homes in the hands of the military and
heading for safer areas in the north of the country.
On the other side of the border, in Israel, another Terra Madre
community has been forced to abandon their village. A Katiusha
rocket seriously damaged Samya Nasser's home; she is one of the
coordinators for Sindyanna, an organization that joins Arab and
Jewish oil producers from Galilee. Following increased bombardments,
the Sindyanna coordinators have decided to close their workshop and
proceed with activities in safer areas.
Both Lebanese producers of Kechek el fougara and the Galilee
community of oil producers are expected at Terra Madre in October,
but the precarious situation of these past weeks renders their
participation uncertain.
We therefore renew out support for both communities affected by the
continuing conflict in the Middle East and we hope that they will
soon be able to resume their everyday lives.
- Visit the
Foundation website for more information and news about Slow
Food's Ark and Presidia projects.
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4. UNISG
News
Applications are currently being accepted for the Master in
Gastronomic Sciences and Quality Products, a one-year graduate
program taught primarily in Italian that begins March 2007. The
Master provides students with in-depth knowledge of foods and their
gastronomic and sensory values, covering production, marketing,
tasting and communication of products, and includes a series of
stages around Italy and Europe.
In Pollenzo UNISG is completing its selection process for the
three-year undergraduate degree in Gastronomic Sciences starting in
the academic year 2006/2007. Hundreds of applications were received
from all over the world, including from as far afield as the
Philippines, Nepal, Gambia and Venezuela. Admitted students hail
from Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Morocco, Ireland, Germany and
Turkey, among others.
Meanwhile the current Master in Food Culture students are about to
start their six-week internships at various companies and
organizations in the food and wine sector, while the current degree
course students will spend two weeks of September on stage in
Veneto, Puglia, Portugal, Ireland, Australia, Japan, India or
California.
Visit the
UNISG website for more information and other news. |
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5. Focus
on Convivia
Second Convivium Opens in Senegal
Slow Food has now found a second home in Senegal. The newly
established Seelal Dundin ("Live Well") Convivium has opened its
doors and the nine members have begun to campaign for good, clean
and fair fish. Like the Suxaali Sunnu Gox ("Preserve Our Region")
Convivium in Dakar, this convivium is also a direct result of Terra
Madre.
Taste Education in France
Reawaken the senses? That's what the Languedoc Convivium aims to do
at its taste-training course in Montpellier, held September 23-24.
The program will explain the fundamentals of sensorial analysis.
"Les Eveilleurs du Gout" (Wakers of Taste) is open to everyone:
local members will host participants who are visiting from farther
afield.
A series devoted to discovering regional products organized by the
Tours-Val de Loire Convivium takes place in Tours each Sunday
until September 24. Meanwhile, in Paris, the Bastille Convivium is
preparaing the third edition of the Cinemaligre Festival, which
features four days of free film screenings with the underlying theme
of food that connects all the inhabitants of this multicultural
neighborhood. Between films on September 16, members will offer
tastings of Presidia products.
New Ideas from Armenia
Members of the Armenian Nairi Convivium and Terra Madre participants
assembled July 16 for a special meeting to prepare for Terra Madre
and to discuss new future plans for the convivium. The members of
the Motal Cheese Presidium, as well as honey, fruit, vegetable, fish
and wine producers presented their work and discussed their
difficulties. Low productivity was cited as one common problem:
although in possession of high quality products, the producers are
only able to sell small amounts on the market.
At the meeting, the convivium aims to take an active role in the
events organized by the Armenian government regarding organic food
production laws and to find ways for convivium members to obtain
certification for their products equivalent to that in the EU. In
the future, the convivium also hopes to organize tastings in one of
Armenia's best supermarkets, create a special Slow Food market in
Yerevan, Armenia`s capital and to help the convivium's Terra Madre
delegates prepare labels for their products.
Campionato di Vino
The 2nd edition of the Wine Champioinship, organized by Slow Food
Florence with the support of the Commune of Fiesole and the German
Embassy, takes place September 9-10 in Fiesole, near Florence,
Italy. There will be a number of stands with artisanal products on
offer and a full program of events and presentations. The convivia
of Berlin (which is twinned with SF Florence), Potsdam and Mueritz
will participate as well. |
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6. Major
Events & Projects
Slow Food Germany's Edible Schoolyard
On August 31 at Marihn in the northeast region of Mecklenburg
Vorpommern, Germany, the regional Minister of Agriculture, Till
Backhaus, will inaugurate "The Garden of Marihn" project, part of
the 2009 national gardening exhibition. The most important part of
the garden will be a model "edible schoolyard" that can be visited
by school classes and teach them how to recreate the garden at their
own schools. Young visitors shall also learn how to taste and cook
the products of the 30 hectare gardening project. The project is
supported by Slow Food Germany and the director is the vice-leader
of the Mueritz convivium, Horst Forytta.
A Taste of Slow
Slow Food in Victoria, in partnership with Melbourne Food and Wine,
will hold the second edition of the two-week event A Taste of Slow
from August 28 to September 10. This year's event will not only
showcase local activities throughout regional Victoria, but also
highlight producers from around Australia for the weekend of
September 9-10, to be held at Abbotsford Convent in Collingswood,
Victoria. Many of the producers representing each of the states at A
Taste of Slow will also be attending Terra Madre. For more
information and the full program of A Taste of Slow, visit
www.atasteofslow.com.au.
Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival
The 12th edition of this food festival takes place September 8-10 in
Ludlow, England. As always, the event celebrates the quality and
diversity of the superb independent food and drink producers and
suppliers that abound in Ludlow and the Marches. Besides all the
wonderful local products (including
Presidium Three Counties Perry) visitors can sample and purchase
from the market, there is a special Slow Food area inside the
castle, as well as a number of Taste Workshops and other events.
For more information, visit
foodfestival.co.uk.
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7. On the
Slow Food Website
- Carlo's Corner:
Food for Peaceful Diplomacy. The war in Lebanon does not spare
'poor man's cheese'.
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Energy: Problems and Solutions. Slow Food at the San Rossore
Meeting in Pisa.
8. Slow Food in the International Press
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"Dreams Deferred in Lebanon", by Anna Ciezadlo, Middle East
Online, Lebanon, August 3, 2006
Ceizadlo relates the story of Ali Fahs, a food merchant at the Souk
el tayeb farmers' market in Beirut, which is organized by Beirut
convivium leader Kamal Mouzawak. For more information about the
situation in Lebanon and the market itself, see
these
posts on the
Terra Madre blog, blog.terramadre2006.org.
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"Koken met Petrini" (Cook with Petrini), by Felix Groeten, Eten
en Genieten, Netherlands, July 31, 2006, (in Dutch)
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"Von den Disteln lernen" (Learn from the Thistles), by Philipp
Mausshardt, Die Tageszeitung, August 16, 2006, (in
German)
A profile of Walter Kress, Slow Food Germany board member and
coordinator of German presence at Salone and Terra Madre.
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