The application of the Mediterranean Diet for Intangible Cultural Heritage (PCI) of Humanity with seven countries, including Portugal/Tavira, was entered this Friday at UNESCO, in Paris.
On the Portuguese side, the candidacy was coordinated by the Municipality of Tavira, Ministry of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning (MAMAOT) and the National Commission of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
Jorge Queiroz, coordinator of the application process in Tavira, told the Sul Informação that this Friday, after the signing by the ambassadors of the seven countries that are now part of the candidacy – Spain, Greece, Morocco, Italy, Portugal, Croatia and Cyprus – the process was submitted to Unesco.
There will now be an evaluation period and, "if this analysis phase passes, as expected", the application must be approved at the UNESCO General Assembly in 2013.
Jorge Queiroz expressed confidence in the final approval, as "the process does not have important weaknesses". Despite “very little time to prepare the candidacy”, and even some resistance from the countries that were already part of the first phase, the process ended up being well prepared.
The Mediterranean Diet was already considered the PCI of Humanity, in a first application approved in November 2010, which involved Spain (the city of Soria, in the Community of Castile and Leon), Italy (Cilento, in the Campania region), Morocco (Chefchaouen, in the Rif Mountains in the North) and Greece (Koronia/Coronia in the Gulf of Messenia, Peloponnese).
This second phase, coordinated by Portugal/Tavira, also involves Croatia (Hvar and Brac) and Cyprus (Agros).
Jorge Queiroz highlights the “innovative side” of this candidacy, which is not centered on the heritage of a city or country, but “a shared candidacy of a common civilizational heritage”. "It encompasses a broader geography, of not only geographic and social realities, but also common civilizational aspects, and it is, therefore, a less selfish candidacy," he added.
"I'm not aware of any other candidacy like this," said Jorge Queiroz.
For now, the candidacy of the Mediterranean Diet to PCI of Humanity covers seven countries in the Mediterranean Basin, but the objective is to extend it to all. In this second phase Algeria was about to enter, but, due to various difficulties, this has not happened yet.
Jorge Queiroz also drew attention to the importance of this candidacy, which is linked to cultural heritage, but also “to agriculture, sustainable development, tourism, and even health”. In Portugal, and in the Algarve in particular, the Ministry of Health is also very committed to defending the Mediterranean Diet as a means of fighting obesity, particularly in children, he explained.
MAMAOT, for its part, stressed yesterday, in a statement, that "as Mediterranean food producers, this recognition will have an important effect on the value of our products, with benefits for health, tourism, the economy and the country's gastronomy" .
The diversity of partners demonstrates that the Mediterranean Diet is much more than a way of cooking: it is a way of life and a valuable cultural heritage. Or if it weren't for the Portuguese word “diet” derived from the Greek “díaita”, which means lifestyle.
Comments