New Vice President for Slow Food International!

On occasion of the Slow Food Executive Committee meeting that is currently taking place in Bra, Italy, Edie Mukiibi has been appointed as Vice President of Slow Food International. He will work alongside Californian chef and activist Alice Waters, whose position was reconfirmed during the last International Congress in October 2012.

When President Carlo Petrini announced the news, he underlined that this decision reflects the organization’s focus on working intensely in Africa: “A few years ago we launched the first seeds for our ambitious project to create 1,000 gardens in Africa: A goal that has recently been reached thanks to the mobilization of the Slow Food network that involves over 50,000 people, including farmers, agronomists, students and teachers in 30 African countries. This scenario allows us to relaunch the project with the new target of reaching 10,000 gardens in Africa. This additional zero entails a vision that aims to develop a network of young African leaders who are able to take agricultural policies into their own hands and to achieve food sovereignty throughout the African continent”.

Edie Mukiibi is 28 years old and has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2012. He lives and works in Uganda, where he has established a group of passionate youth and works with farming communities. Thanks to the innovative use of cellphones and the radio, he manages to reach even the most remote villages. Among his great achievements is the creation of 75 gardens and two Presidia in his country. His work is equally dedicated to the Ark of Taste project. Since 2006 he has been working on a project that helps children from rural areas produce their own food in a sustainable way. Edie advocates a new model of cooperation that, according to him, is often not based so much on donations and money, but rather on collaboration and an exchange of services.

“I am happy to have an active leadership role to continue with the development of the African network. This can be realized with the support and collaboration of the African Slow Food leaders in all the 30 countries where we are present. This is our time in Africa to promote our own food and gastronomy, to strengthen our traditional food systems and communities, and to defend our African biodiversity.”

The appointment of Edie Mukiibi as Vice President of Slow Food International happens on the eve of the event Slow Food for Africa in Milan, which will be attended by Carlo Petrini (President of Slow Food), José Graziano da Silva (Director-General of the FAO), Cècile Kyenge (Italy’s Minister for Integration), five African representatives (John Kariuki and Eunice Njoroge from Kenya, Edie Mukiibi and John Wanyu from Uganda, Bineta Diallo from Senegal and Mariam Ouattara from Côte d’Ivoire) and 450 supporters and friends of the project (journalists, entrepreneurs, actors, filmmakers and many Slow Food convivium leaders and members).