At the ITB travel trade show in Berlin overtourism is hotly debated. Majorca, Venice and Berlin — they all suffer from the excesses of tourism, even though tourists are an important economic factor. At the start of a New Year plans are often made and wishes noted, including the so-called bucket-list,
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is to carry out an audit of organic food in the EU in response to growing retail sales within the sector that leaves the industry open to fraudulent organic claims. The audit is an update to the ECA’s last inspection in 2012, during which
A new study sheds light on the magnitude of microplastic pollution in our oceans. The study, published in open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science, found microplastics in the stomachs of nearly three out of every four mesopelagic fish caught in the Northwest Atlantic — one of the highest levels globally.
The aim of the EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY) is to increase the number of Chinese visitors to Europe, whilst encouraging sustainable tourism and stimulating investment opportunities for Europe and China through a number of cooperative marketing campaigns. These campaigns will be funded through public-private partnerships, business summits, and around 5000
The Africa Food Prize has announced the commencement of the search for the 2018 Africa Food Prize Winner. This is a distinguished award that recognises outstanding individuals or institutions that are leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business
The call for applications for the “International Award UCLG – Mexico City – Culture 21”, will stay open from 2 November 2017 to 16 March 2018. This Award aims to recognise important contributions from cities and individuals to the relation between culture and sustainable development. All Cities and Local Governments who
An international jury panel chaired by Greek celebrity chef Argiro Barbarigou from South Aegean, European Region of Gastronomy 2019, will be in charge of selecting the winner of the European Young Chef Award 2017. The jury for the European Young Chef Award 2017 will include: Rosa Mayordomo, Board member of the Acadèmia Catalana de Gastronomia i
Young European chefs have been selected as finalists from awarded European Regions of Gastronomy to join a European competition on the 6th November 2017, set to protect and promote cultural and food diversity, culinary traditions, gastronomic innovation and promote young chefs starting out on their careers. World renowned chef Joan
At the conclusion of the workshop “Food and gastronomy as innovation drivers for more resilient regions” the speakers threw (or rather passed) tomatoes to the audience to make a statement about the importance of food and cultural diversity for regional development. On 11 October 2017, in the framework of the
There is no such thing as the perfect recipe for sound and long-lasting regional development, but the Regions of Gastronomy went pretty far in the process of building their own successful formulas to empower local communities. With creative and innovative proposals spicing the dish, during the 12th Regions of Gastronomy Platform meeting they
Some estimates reveal that Americans waste as much as 60 million tons of food a year. Given the plight of world hunger, this fact is shameful enough, but what many of us may not realize is that wasted food also has a harmful effect on the environment. So that we might be
14th IGCAT Board Meeting took place on 12 July 2017 to approve the organisation’s new Strategy Plan for 2017-2020. The plan aims to consolidate the work areas of IGCAT for the three years ahead and strengthen the global network of IGCAT partner institutions, regional members and independent experts. By encouraging a deeper
On Wednesday 21 June, IGCAT participated to a meeting organised by EcoRegió Catalunya and the Municipality of Celrà (Girona) at the Centre de Promoció econòmica in Celrà, to celebrate the approval of the MicroEcoRegion Ter Gavarres project. After attending the meeting of EcoRegió Catalunya Steering Committee in the morning, where possible opportunities for collaboration were explored,
The Regions of Gastronomy Platform celebrated its 11th Meeting on 14-16 June 2017, following the announcement of Kuopio (Finland) as European Region of Gastronomy 2020. Hosted by ProAgria North-Savo in the city of Kuopio, the meeting gathered representatives from IGCAT and the Platform member regions in order to discuss current situation and envision future steps.
On 26 April 2017, in the framework of the 4th Annual IGCAT Experts Meeting on Smart and Sustainable Destinations: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities (25-26 April 2017), IGCAT Experts gathered at EUHT ST Pol University School in Sant Pol de Mar (Barcelona) to discuss the organisation’s Strategy Plan for 2017-2020. Dr. Diane
IGCAT took part in the 3rd edition of the Parabere Forum, held on 5-6 March 2017 at the historical building of the University of Barcelona. As “an independent international platform featuring women’s views and voices on major food issues,” Parabere Forum “is committed to improving the state of gastronomy, food,
