Noahs of the World

The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity has scheduled a meeting for members of the International Ark Commission and some of the International Presidia coordinators from September 2-4 2005.The meeting will be held in Florence, Italy, where the official Foundation headquarters are based. The meeting has been made possible partly thanks to the generosity of the Tuscany Regional Authority (Department of Cooperation Development), and the Foundation will be proud to present participants examples of Tuscany’s advanced agricultural system.

The Foundation has decided to organize this meeting because, following six years of development of the Italian Presidia and three of the International Presidia, as well as the recent setting up of several new Ark Commissions, it feels that it is important to evaluate the work which has been done to date and to provide a theoretic and practical update to all the volunteers who are implementing projects worldwide.

Speaking at the meeting will be collaborators and experts from various fields (animal husbandry, horticulture, cheesemaking, food production legislation and food technology) and representatives of all the various branches of Slow Food. Above all, the get-together will provide an opportunity to share practical experiences, visit Tuscan Presidia and take part in a number of guided tastings.

Half a day of the meeting will be devoted to a meeting of the International Ark Commission and members of the International Ark Commission will receive detailed programs as soon they become available.

Delegates will stay at the Instituto Agronomico d’Oltremare, a research center that is collaborating with Slow Food on various projects,

PROGRAM

Thursday, September 1
Arrival at Florence airport.
Transfer to Istituto Agronomico d’Oltremare (IAO) research institute (delegates will be accommodated in the IAO guest rooms).
Dinner in an osteria in Florence.
Transfer to Istituto Agronomico d’Oltremare (IAO) for the night.

Friday, September 2
11am: opening session at Accademia dei Georgofili, official headquarters of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity.
Buffet lunch.
Afternoon: visits to three Slow Food Presidia (Valdarno Chicken, Zolfino Bean, and Valdarno Tarese Cured Meat).
7pm: aperitif and welcome speech by Mayor of Montevarchi at the Accademia del Poggio
Dinner offered by the city of Montevarchi in the Salone delle Feste Circolo Ricreativo “Stanze Ulivieri”.
Transfer to Istituto Agronomico d’Oltremare (IAO) for the night.

Saturday, September 3
9am: welcome speech by Alice Perlini, director of the Istituto Agronomico d’Oltremare (IAO).
Meeting and discussion of future Presidia project strategies and action plan.
Buffet lunch at IAO canteen
International Ark Commission Meeting.
Transfer to Bibbiena where the Casentino Slow Food Convivium and the city of Bibbiena will host delegates for dinner in the restored ancient prison. A small Presidia market and an Italian Presidia photography exhibition will be staged for the occasion. The photographs on display will come from the portfolios featured in Immagini del Gusto (Images of Taste), a book of photographs published by FIAF (Italian Federation of Photography Associations) and the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, which will be officially presented to the public in the course of the afternoon.
Transfer to Istituto Agronomico d’Oltremare (IAO) for the night.

Sunday, September 4
Morning: visit to Orbetello Bottarga Presidium; tour of the Orbetello lagoon by boat.
Lunch at the I Pescatori trattoria in Orbetello.
Afternoon: visit to the Maremmana Cow Presidium and the Alberese Regional Farm inside the Uccellina Natural Park.
Transfer to Istituto Agronomico d’Oltremare (IAO) for the night.

Monday, September 5
Departure from Florence airport.