{"id":15821,"date":"2017-06-16T16:18:07","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T14:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-oldwebsite.igcat.org\/?p=15821"},"modified":"2017-06-26T12:56:54","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T10:56:54","slug":"kuopio-announced-european-region-of-gastronomy-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test-oldwebsite.igcat.org\/es\/kuopio-announced-european-region-of-gastronomy-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Kuopio announced European Region of Gastronomy 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

European Region of Gastronomy 2020 title was recommended to be given to Kuopio Region<\/strong> (Finland), on Wednesday 14 June 2017 at Kuopio City Hall, after the presentation of the region\u2019s bid book to an appointed jury. The announcement took place in the framework of the 11th<\/sup> Regions of Gastronomy Platform meeting, held in Kuopio, 14-16 June 2017.<\/p>\n

Katri Kostamo<\/strong>, from ProAgria PS opened the event, followed by Head of Unit of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Savo, Jan Blomberg<\/strong>, and Marketing Director of the City of Kuopio, Kirsi Soininen<\/strong> who warmly welcomed the audience.<\/p>\n

President of IGCAT, Dr. Diane Dodd<\/strong> presented then the European Region of Gastronomy Award and Platform, holding an inspiring speech on the importance of cross-sectorial dialogue in regions to develop creative solutions aimed to cater for new trends in tourism, especially the so-called foodie generation<\/em>. Dr. Dodd highlighted that \u201cit is Europe\u2019s lesser-known regions that are providing a treasure trove for the more adventurous creative and food loving travelers\u201d who \u201clove new combinations\u201d and long for being \u201csurprised or delighted.\u201d In order to meet the needs and preferences of these \u201cthrill-seekers\u201d who \u201care more concerned with healthy foods and where their ingredients come from\u201d than previous generations, she claimed that agricultural, hospitality, agrifood, and creative sectors must work in synergy \u201cto rethink the way we present and serve not only our food but our terroir.\u201d Dr. Dodd also stressed the importance of adopting smart technology solutions, since foodies<\/em> are \u201ca generation embracing social media platforms\u201d to communicate \u201cgood experiences.\u201d She stated that \u201cIGCAT watches closely these trends and has come to the conclusion that by stimulating sustainable and ethical food travel\u201d a contribution is made \u201cto local economies in many more ways than conventional mass tourism.\u201d She concluded emphasising that the European Region of Gastronomy \u201cAward can be a catalyst to: nurture sustainable and ethical tourism; preserve European\u2019s rich cultural and food diversity; bring back pride in regional cuisine and traditions; and innovate for new foodie generations<\/em>.\u201d The full speech is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kuopio Region\u2019s bid book was presented afterwards with contributions from Antti Iire<\/strong> (Savonia University of Applied Sciences), Annaleena Hakatie<\/strong> (Verso Brands), and Ilona Sares<\/strong> (ProAgria PS).<\/p>\n

The European Region of Gastronomy title was endorsed by an international jury, based on the bid book and the jury visit that took place on 13 June 2017. The evaluation panel included IGCAT experts as well as other international professionals with expertise in several fields.<\/p>\n

International Liaison Officer at UNWTO \u2013 Themis Foundation and IGCAT expert on sustainable tourism, Dr. Edith M. Szivas<\/strong> (UK) chaired the jury and officially announced jury recommendations to Kuopio. Director of the UAE based SeaStar Consultancy, Dr. Szivas is a tourism development specialist with 25 years of international experience. Her expertise bridges industry and academia. She has been working on advisory projects for the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), EU, USAID and AFED (Arab Forum for Environment and Development) in the area of strategic tourism development, tourism policy and planning, national level tourism education and human resources development and luxury hotel management and branding in Africa, Asia, then Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Prof. Roberta Garibaldi<\/strong>, expert on gastronomy tourism and evaluation from the University of Bergamo (East Lombardy, Italy) and Anton Rombouts<\/strong>, Mayor of s-Hertogenbosch (Noord-Brabant, Netherlands) acted as Vice Chairs of the jury, which further included: Anna Blaua<\/strong>, from Riga Tourism Development Bureau (Latvia), expert on tourism marketing; Blanca Cros<\/strong>, from the Catalan Tourism Agency (Spain), expert on external tourism promotion; and Jacinta Dalton<\/strong>, from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (Ireland), expert on food development strategies.<\/p>\n

Finally, Claire Brightley<\/strong> (UK), expert on sustainability and the environment; Carlos Fernandes<\/strong> (Portugal), expert on hospitality services; and Eric Sejersen<\/strong> (Denmark), expert on regional development strategies, formed part of the panel as external evaluators of the bid book.<\/p>\n

The jury was impressed with the work carried out by Kuopio Region in preparing and presenting its bid, stressing that it:<\/p>\n