Welcome address by CIHEAM Bari’s Director

It is my greatest privilege to welcome you to this virtual page and to CIHEAM Bari on the organization of the Third International Conference on the Revitalization of the Mediterranean Diet; more so because this Conference also marks the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the institution for which I have worked for over thirty years and whose Italian office I have had the honour of heading since 2017.
After the two editions held in Milan in 2016 and Palermo in 2019, the Conference lands, today, in Apulia, in Bari: a region and a city that epitomize the Mediterranean identity with its most distinctive peculiarities and are the perfect venue for the topics up for discussion during these ” three days ” of debates and events.
CIHEAM Bari is one of the institutions that drew up the nomination file for Italy, through which, on November 16, 2010, UNESCO inscribed the Mediterranean Diet on the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List, defining it as “a set of skills, knowledge, practices, and traditions ranging from the landscape to the table”. This is what makes me even prouder today.
Several institutions have been supporting and encouraging us in the process towards the organization of this Third Conference. We would like to thank them and acknowledge the great work carried out in unison firmly believing that sustainability and the Mediterranean diet are close allies along the virtuous path towards fair and equitable growth.
The work sessions, that will animate our September days and include speeches by experts and scholars of international renown, will all focus on the objective outlined in the brief available on this welcome page: today more than ever a ” change of route” is needed in order to accelerate the achievement of the UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals.
Hopefully our Conference will contribute to this acceleration, adding a milestone to the impervious path that leads to sustainable growth, reasserting the central role of the Mediterranean area along this route, and reaffirming the undeniable value of the Mediterranean Diet.
All the best to all of you, and a sincere and heartfelt thank you again for your participation.

Maurizio Raeli, CIHEAM Bari’s Director