The launching of Bacolod City as the Slow Food International hub for Asia and the Pacific will be held at the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2024 at Parco Dora in Turin Italy on Friday, Reena Gamboa, Slow Food Community of Negros and Bacolod City president and spokesperson, said on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
About 3,000 delegates from all over the world are attending the 5-day Terra Madre festival, she said.
The Philippine booth will be the venue for the launching of Bacolod City as the Slow Food International hub for Asia and the Pacific with Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez leading the signing of a tripartite memorandum of understanding with Slow Food International and the Slow Food Community of Negros, Gamboa said.
This is in line with Bacolod City and the province of Negros Occidental’s food security program and gastronomic tourism priorities, she said.
“The hub will definitely boost tourism, give Filipino farmers a chance to be given importance as they grow good, clean and fair food for all, and most of all preserve our culinary heritage”, Gamboa said.
Bacolod City is also gearing to host Terra Madre Asia and the Pacific, Gamboa said.
In preparation for this big event, the Slow Food Community of Negros together with Bacolod City and Negros Occidental will host the second edition of the Terra Madre Visayas together with the Organic Agriculture Festival on November 19-23, she added.
“Slow Food is an international movement which started in Italy. Its main advocacy is to promote good, clean and fair food for everyone, especially the farmer who feeds us. This includes protecting our biodiversity and our culinary heritage,” Gamboa said.
Every two years the Slow Food celebrates Terra Madre Salone del Gusto around the third week of September in Turin, Italy.
The Philippines has been a participant since 2002 and this year will be its biggest delegation of around 90 people, with the majority of the delegates from the Slow Food Negros community.
Among those in the Bacolod delegation led by Mayor Benitez are Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, councilors Cindy Rojas, Lady Gles Pallen, Renecito Novero, Vladimir Gonzales, Em Ang and Jason Villarosa.
Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez – Negros Association of Chief Executives president, La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Mangilimutan and Charina Magallanes Tan representing the Office of the Governor of Negros Occidental are also in Italy.
The Victorias and La Castellana mayors went on a pre-Terra Madre tour to learn more about the programs of Slow Food which can serve their constituents better as Negros Occidental is an agricultural island, Gamboa said.
Ramon Uy Jr., SF Southeast Asia councilor will deliver the welcome message and the Victorias mayor will introduce the keynote speaker – Philippine Ambassador to Italy Nathaniel Imperial at the opening of the Slow Food Philippines booth on Thursday.
The Bacolod mayor will declare the booth open.*