1. Editorial

Remember: Pleasure First

Just a few weeks ago at Slow Fish, we spoke at length with Jan, a Dutch fisherman with a hearty laugh who is able to address anyone who feels his pull and make friends with Japanese and Mauritanian fishermen. Jan lives on his boat with his wife Barbara. When it¡¦s time to pull in the nets, everyone comes and works together to define protocols of sustainable fishing which go well beyond HACCP standards. Jan works seven days a week ¡V always with a smile. He says he came to Slow Fish because here he could charge himself up on the energy present at this gathering ¡V energy that comes out of meeting so many people that move in the same direction with pleasure and generosity.

And then there¡¦s Jean-Jacques, a Frenchman from the Loire and tireless conversationalist, a sort of Santa Claus in Everyman trappings, a son and father of cooks, a passionate fisherman, expert mushroom hunter, author and illustrator of a poetic book on the best way and moment to hook a fish and then cook it in fresh water ¡V for love and for pleasure.

The pleasure of doing what one does and doing it with others that share the same pleasure ¡V this is the pleasure that can be seen in Jorge, a member of the Zaragoza convivium, a fan of Hemingway, film and the good foods of his birthplace; and in Giani, a lover of wild foods who wants to hold a smaller meeting of Terra Madre in the Balkans, his homeland; it can also be seen in Michele, a Ligurian fisherman that organizes lessons for children; Jean-Piere, a psychologist who coordinates a fishermen¡¦s association in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and hopes that some international organization will decide to manage the world¡¦s marine and seafood resources in a responsible way and keep industry from ransacking the African coast with impunity.

Generous pleasure: it¡¦s a renewable resource to use without moderation. It¡¦s undoubtedly what moves us forward, together, though each with his own rhythm and in his own way. It¡¦s undoubtedly what resembles the satisfaction we feel after a good meal with great company.

2. Focus on Convivia

New Convivia

Croation Fishermen Join the Network
In Genoa during Slow Fish (May 4-7), two Croation convivia were established: Slow Food Unije and Slow Food Zagabria. The first was opened by the fishermen of Unije island, a strip of land covered by Mediterranean maquis that envelops the centuries-old olive trees there. Neither cars nor mopeds are allowed; all the island¡¦s inhabitants have chosen to get around solely on foot or bicycle.

Convivia in Action

Australia: Recipes from the Past
Slow Food Perth has launched a project to collect and collate recipes from West Australians of diverse cultural backgrounds that are at risk of disappearing so that these foods can be enjoyed by future generations of cooks and families. The project, called ¡§Slow Food at the Edge of the World¡¨, aims to publish a book with hundreds of recipes and food preparation methods brought to Australia by generations of immigrants and the ways in which they adapted them using local ingredients.

Mar Del Plata on the Airwaves
Maria Larsen, leader of the Mar Del Plata convivium in Argentina, tells us that, beginning June 4, her radio program ¡§Slow Food Mar Del Plata¡¨ will air every Monday from 1pm to 2pm (local time) and will also be available on the Internet. Besides music, the program will offer news of and interviews with producers and cooks of other convivia.

Slow Spain Supports Pamiès
Many Spanish citizens and the convivia there continue to oppose the spread of GMOs in the country. On June 11 the state¡¦s second trial will go underway to address acts of protest against transgenic cultivation. Josep Pamiès, leader of the Balaguer (Catalunya) convivium and anti-GMO activist, is one of the victims of agricultural politics and Spanish economics in this sector. He was sentenced to four years in prison and fined £á 50,000 for protesting in Lleida. On June 10 the Spanish convivia will demonstrate their support for Pamiès. If you would like to join the campaign to support Pamiès, go to http://www.assembleapagesa.cat.

Slow Food at the European Film Festival in Bucharest
Gastronomy as cultural identity: that was the theme of the European Film Festival held in Bucharest, May 3-13. The aim of the event was to celebrate the diversity and cultural wealth of Europe through its different gastronomic traditions. It was an occasion to show how admission into the European Union does not bring standardization. Instead, it is an opportunity to preserve and promote the cultural and gastronomic diversities of the different member countries.
The Bucharest convivium also played an important role in the event, presenting the Branza de Burduf and Saxon Village Preserve Presidia and Romanian food communities, thus creating a public space where consumers and farm producers could meet and talk. The Bucharest convivium also organized theme dinners dedicated to specific countries to accompany the main films.


3. Terra Madre

Universities in the Network
The Terra Madre Network of Universities is growing and becomes more active each day.
New projects of note:
- The Universidad de Costa Rica offers a seminar called ¡§Denominations of Origin and Agritouristic Routes as Strategies for Rural Development", coordinated by Patricia Sánchez, psanchez@cariari.ucr.ac.cr.
- The Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado - UCLA (Venuzuela) has created a new faculty post in food security, coordinated by Nerio Naranjo, nerionaranjo@ucla.edu.ve.


4. Events for Learning, Meeting and Tasting

Carlo Petrini is back from his tour in the United States, where he presented to more than 6,000 people his book ¡§Slow Food Nation¡¨. This title is also the name of the great event on food products and food traditions that will be held in San Francisco in 2008. You can access to a complete report oh this USA tour through this link: http://content.slowfood.it/upload/3E6E345B0cf0f192C4lqJ28D37DD/files/USA.pdf.

Slow Fish Dossier
For Slow Fish 2007, the Slow Food Research Center organized 25 Water Workshops, meetings and discussions that were attended by more than 1,200 people. In the concluding meeting on the Mediterranean (http://www.slowfish.it/ita/pagine/convegno.lasso), where an alliance was formed to protect that sea, its resources and communities, it was decided that a Slow Fish 2007 Dossier would be prepared that would collect all the primary themes highlighted at the event. The dossier will be available online and will be sent to all the environmental and wildlife and fisheries ministers of the EU and other countries with interests in the Mediterranean. It will represent the point of departure for the ministerial forum in Genoa in 2008 and Slow Fish 2009.

Yokohama Fair
More than 6,000 visitors attended Yokohama Fair 2007. The event was organized April 28-29 by the Yokohama convivium and is modelled on Salone del Gusto. During the event, a roundtable discussion was held to present the Slow Food movement and talk about its past, present and future. In attendance were Slow Food Vice President Giulio Colomba and Japanese Ark Commission President and noted journalist Natsu Shimamura. Ark products and a wide selection of sake were available for tasting. A press conference was held to describe Slow Food educational activities and focused particularly on UNISG.

Cheese 2007: We Need You!
It¡¦s full-speed ahead here in Bra as we start preparing for Cheese, the international festival dedicated to quality cheeses, which takes place in Bra, September 21-24, 2007. This edition will once again feature the enormous Cheese Market.
Cheese is one of our most important international events, and we ask for your help in finding exceptional vendors from all over the world. If you know of producers or institutions interested in participating, please contact Carla Coccolo - c.coccolo@slowfood.it - tel. +39 0172 419716.

 Argentinian Festival
Slow Latina takes place in Cordoba, June 21-24. This is the first Slow Food festival market in Latin America dedicated to quality food products. Baked goods, cheeses, fruit, vegetables, seafood, meats and beverages ¡V all good, clean and fair ¡V will be featured at this market of local flavors and in activities.
Tons of space will be given to discussion about food, sensory games for children, wine seminars, conferences on spreading Slow Food around the world and the links between food, health and quality of life.
An enoteca, created for the occasion by the Argentinian school for sommeliers, will offer opportunities to learn about Slow wine and to taste some of the best examples from around the country.

5. Slow Education

Fishery Communities Join in Fish Tales
At Slow Fish, fishery community representatives also engaged their five senses through "Fish Tales", an educational and sensory awareness program targeted to children. Russian, Croatian, South American, Japanese, African and French participants were able to examine, appreciate and describe the sensory qualities of mullet and horse mackerel, which are undervalued fish, and bottarga, which comes from mullet. The shape and consistency of these, the different aromas and flavors were identified and explained.

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6. Biodiversity Projects

From Iceland to Piedmont
Johanna B. Thorvaldsdóttir, a Terra Madre 2006 delegate, and Sigridur Johannesdottir, a university researcher, travelled from the land of ice all the way to Bra to meet people at the Slow Food offices and the produceres of Coazze cevrin, an artisanal robiola cheese. In Iceland the knowledge of traditional cheesemaking using raw goat¡¦s milk was lost at the beginning of the 20th century, when the food system there became centralized and industralized.
The Icelandic community, however, is working to recover this knowledge and this is the reason for which Johanna and Sigridur decided to visit Italian producers. After visiting the Cevrin Presidium through an exchange arranged by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, Johanna and Sigridur will undertake a project to create a cheesemaking workshop. Slow Food will help them and campaign until raw milk cheesemaking is allowed in Iceland. The Icelandic food community will be present at Cheese.

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7. UNISG: Life on Campus

The Magazine Hits News Stands
Gastronomic Sciences: Food for Thought, UNISG¡¦s scientific journal, has just put out its second issue (no. 1) ever. The first issue (no. 0) is available online in both English and Italian. At www.unisgjournal.it you can register to view that entire issue. The current issue focuses on Travel on the Po, a program the students will take part in this September and October.
For more information, go to http://www.unisg.it/eng/press.read.php?cid=230.

Stages in Germany, Spain and Canada
Third-year students travelled to Germany, Spain and Canada from May 14 to 25. In Germany, the students studied the Mosel, Franconia and Trier, while in Spain students crossed Aragon, from Zaragoza to Navarra, to study traditional and organic cultivation. The trip to Quebec and British Columbia focused on the Canadian counterpart, naturally.
Find the program here: http://www.unisg.it/eng/stage.php.


8. Communications

Convivial Pursuits
Two new examples have been added to Convivial Pursuits, the guide to organizing Slow Food activities, projects and events. There¡¦s a Taste Workshop that was held in Helsinborg, Sweden, that dealt with the preparation and sensory qualities of honey (http://content.slowfood.it/upload/3E6E345B1900629CCAOpi369C0BC/files/mieleSWEtaste.html)and an educational activity for children in Auckland, New Zealand (http://content.slowfood.it/upload/3E6E345B1900629CCAOpi369C0BC/files/aucNZtaste_children.html).
Remember that you can find the guide at www.slowfood.com and also access the Convivium Leader Area. Help improve the guide and make it even more useful by adding your example. Just send us an email with a description of your activity or arrange an interview time with us by writing to communication@slowfood.com.

Message from the International Membership Service Centre
Membership Lists
We would like to thank all of the convivium leaders who have been checking the monthly membership lists, to make sure that the members names and addresses are correct. As you continue to register and renew members and as members change addresses, it is important that these checks continue. This assists us to be able to ensure that Slow Food members receive our publications when we send them. Therefore your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Electronic communications from Slow Food
Beating Spam
We believe that some convivium leaders have been having problems with receiving the emails that Slow Food sends from its different email accounts. If you are able to add the following email addresses to your email address books, if you have not done this already:
servicecentre@slowfood.it - for the monthly convivium membership lists
accounts@slowfood.it - for the monthly convivium financial account
international@slowfood.com - for the monthly convivium leader update
communication@slowfood.com - for sending us your comments on, requests and contributions to the leader update and the website www.slowfood.com

We have also noticed that some convivium leaders may not be receiving the emails we send, as some email boxes are full. To ensure that you are updated about what is going on around the Slow Food world, we would like to ask if it is possible to clear your mailboxes regularly.
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