Down To Business At the International Congress

On Saturday November 8, in Naples, Italy, the International Slow Food Congress voted on the new direction and leadership of Slow Food. The second and final day of the four-yearly International Congress was held at Castel Sant’Elmo overlooking the port of Naples and the 600 delegates in attendance voted to elect the Slow Food President, International Committe Members, a Board of Auditors and a Board of Guarantors, as well as a series of separate motions.

The motion to expand the School Gardens project into an international project with every convivium participating, proposed by newly instated Slow Food International Vice President Alice Waters, was adopted with overwhelming support. There were no votes against and 16 abstentions.

The motion to involve convivia all over the world in the identification and recruitment of people for the October 2004 ‘World Forum of 5,000 Food Producers’ in Turin, Italy, was also passed with zero votes against and only eight abstentions.

The motion to create a Register of the Gastronomic Patrimony of Mankind (to catalogue places that have been settings for the development of food culture and conviviality) and a Registry of Honors of Merit (to acknowledge those who have dedicated their lives and daily labor to the development of food culture) was passed with zero votes against and a mere three abstentions.

The motion to increase the Slow Food membership fee by 5 euros in wealthy countries, and allot that money to promote the growth of Slow Food in the developing world as well as to sustain the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity (which finances the Presidia projects) was passed with 18 votes against and 21 abstentions.

In addition to the four motions, a revised Slow Food International Statute was passed (zero against, 3 abstentions, the rest in favor) and a Code of Use for Slow Food logos was passed (abstentions 17; against 28, the rest in favor). Both can be viewed at http://localhost/slowfood/eng/sf_cose/sf_cose_statuto.lasso. A long-term balance sheet for Slow Food International was voted on and approved (abstention 2, against 0).

A list of new Slow Food International appointments, passed with no votes against and one abstention, follows:

International President

Carlo Petrini (Slow Food Italy)

VOTE: abstentions 1; against 0, all the rest in favor

Carlo Petrini nominates to the Congress, his two Vice-Presidents:

Alice Waters (Slow Food USA)
Giulio Colomba (Slow Food Italy)

Slow Food International Committee
SF Italy________________14 candidates

1. Silvio Barbero
2. Gino Bortoletto
3. Roberto Burdese
4. Alberto Capatti
5. Carlo Casti
6. Antonio Cherchi
7. Gianfranco Mancini
8. Giacomo Mojoli
9. Mavi Negro
10. Gaetano Pascale
11. Nanni Ricci
12. Piero Sardo
13. Renato Sardo
14. Cinzia Scaffidi

SF USA _______________________ 6 candidates

15. Portia Belloc
16. Barbara Bowman
17. Michael Dimock
18. Garrett Oliver
19. Nancy Piianaia
20. Hans Jakob Werlen

SF Germany ____________________ 4 candidates

21. Cristopher Bodirsky
22. Hans Werner Bunz
23. Friederike Klatt
24. Hans Georg Pestka

SF Switzerland ___________________3 candidates

25. Luca Cavadini
26. Philippe Guillemin
27. Rafael Perez

SF France _________________________2 candidates

28. Didier Chabrol
29. Jean Lheritier

SF Japan__________________________2 candidates

30. Kazumi Oguro
31. Hirotoshi Wako

SF Australia________________________1 candidate

32. James Broadway

SF UK ____________________________1 candidate

33. Wendy Fogarty

SF Austria__________________________1 candidate

34. Manfred Flieser

SF Canada__________________________1 candidate

35. Sinclair Philip

VOTE: abstentions 3; against 0, all the rest in favor

Board of Auditors

The following short-list is proposed to the Congress:
1. Davide Barberis ( Slow Food Italy)
2. Rita Frehner ( Slow Food Switzerland)
3. Lucien Biolatto ( Slow Food France)
Substitutes
4. Kees Koot (Slow Food Netherlands)
5. Heinz-Dieter Broziat (Slow Food Germany)

VOTE: abstentions 7; against 1; all the rest in favor

Board of Guarantors

The following short-list is proposed to the Congress:
1. Erik Vassallo ( Slow Food Italy )
2. Achim Taubald ( Slow Food Germany)
3. Todd Wickstrom ( Slow Food USA)
Substitutes
4. Giana Ferguson (Slow Food Ireland)
5. Santiago Abarca ( Slow Food Argentina)

VOTE: abstentions 9; against 0, all the rest in favor

International President’s Committee

1. Carlo Petrini – President
2. Alice Waters – Vice President – Slow Food USA
3. Giulio Colomba – Vice President – Slow Food Italy

Under the new charter, the President proposes to the Congress another 6 Advisors who will form part of the President’s Committee:

VOTE: abstentions 1; against 0; all the rest in favor