L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano Made in Italy in the world: a protocol to promote it and protect it what "made in Italy" really is. Farnesina and Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Economic Affairs join forces to support Italy's culinary tradi- tion abroad. To this aim, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, along with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education, signed the Protocollo d'Intesa Maaeci- Mipaf-Miur, an agreement cre- ated in collaboration with other national entities, including the Ministry for Economics Affairs and CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee. The overall goal of the protocol is the promotion and safeguard of Italian culinary tra- dition in six countries: Japan, China, Russia, Brazil, the UAE and, of course, the USA. The program is part of a larg- er Italian plan to promote tradi- tional national cuisine, the Food Act, launched last year during Expo Milan 2015. On the day of the plan's presentation, the 15th of March, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, underlined how "Italian cuisine and Italian tradi- tional, high quality food products are integrant part of our culture. They speak of Italy, of our taste for good food, to millions of people around the world." Important also the words of Minister of Agriculture Maurizio Martina, who made the Protocol's aims and objec- tives clear: "promoting the real 'made in Italy', also through the help of world famous chefs, to strengthen our presence on for- eign markets." Foreign markets which have been choosing the "made in Italy" for a while, already: last year, also thanks to the publicity provided by Expo Milan 2015, agricultural and food products exports earned the country almost 37 billion euro (around 41.5 billion USD). What's the plan? Many initiatives have been created to support high quality Italian cuisine in the six coun- tries participating to the Protocol. Among the most important, there are certainly the Italian Food Week, organized by Italian Embassies, Consulates and cul- tural institutes during the last ten days of November, and the Italian Food Day, which will take place during relevant inter- national sports events, such as the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 4 To support the diffusion of high quality Italian cuisine abroad, the Protocol will also offer study grants to young Italian chefs under 30 years of age, and international Italian cooking master classes, where local chefs will propose exam- ples of Italian cuisine to the pub- lic. In the USA, the promotion of original "made in Italy" food and products already started last December with the presentation of a video realized by Silvio Muccino, shown for days at the very heart of New York, on Times Square. "The extraordinary Italian taste" This is the brand by which all initiatives will be identified and become recognizable internation- ally, a brand essential to make the original "made in Italy" stand out against the rest. The Protocol includes an outline for action to promote and support the "made in Italy" in the world. Far from being simply and exclusively marketing oriented, the outline starts from underlin- ing the cultural and historical value of food in the country and proposes several means to raise awareness and knowledge of it around the world. Interesting is the idea of using famous Italian chefs as ambas- sadors of the original culinary "made in Italy," just as it is the valorization of Italian food excel- lence and of the Mediterranean diet on the international market, with particular attention given to the promotion of Italy's DOP, IGP and Biologico denomina- tions. Promotion starts at home Strengthening the brand "Italy" outside the country's bor- ders means, however, making authentic "made in Italy" shine also at home. For this reason, the Protocol underlines the impor- tance of supporting quality-certi- fied wine-and-food itineraries, created to promote local products and recipes. The Protocol will also support the recognition of an official Italian quality cuisine, apt to identify recipes and high quality products typical of Italian tradi- tion. To see the first events orga- nized in accord with the Protocollo d'Intesa per la Valorizzazione all'Estero della Cucina Italiana di Alta Qualità we will have to wait the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, which start on the 5th of August. NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS The ministers Gentiloni and Martina signed the Protocollo d'Intesa MAAECI-MIPAF-MIUR for the promotion and safe- guard of Italian culinary tradition in six countries. Photo: Ph MAE Multimedia-ANSA The Protocol will also support the recognition of an official Italian quality cuisine. Photo by Subbotina The ministers Martina and Gentiloni. Photo: Ph MAE Multimedia-ANSA The Protocol will also offer study grants to young Italian chefs under 30. Photo by vpardi Italian cuisine and Italian traditional, high quality food products are integrant part of our culture Continued from page 1

• Cover