Aegean Gastronomy is Branding with Strength
In its 130th year of establishment, Izmir Commodity Exchange is coming up the end of its efforts to bring another big project like Izmir Agricultural Technology Center (ITTM) to Izmir. It is aimed to make the Aegean a center of attraction in the national and international arena, with the gastronomy project that will add significant value to the whole Aegean by putting Izmir at the center.
With the project, which will serve both the agricultural sector and the gastronomy sector with which it is directly connected, the aim is to contribute to the development of the qualified tourism potential of the region, while supporting rural development by encouraging sustainable agricultural production.
Izmir Commodity Exchange continues to work with an inclusive approach in this collective gastronomy movement, which will expand the entire value chain from soil to plate, as it does in almost every project.
In the project, which attracted great interest from all stakeholders, the first concrete cooperation was made with the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. The cooperation protocol prepared for the project, which will be carried out with the main value of participation, was signed by Izmir Commodity Exchange Chairman Işınsu Kestelli and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer.
According to the protocol, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality will contribute to the meetings, symposiums, workshops, events, training, seminars and promotion activities to be organized within the scope of the project, as well as providing financial support to the project in areas to be mutually agreed upon.
Stating that they aim to make Izmir and the Aegean Region one of the few gastronomy destinations in the world with the project to be realized in a very wide concept from production to branding, from education to promotional activities, Izmir Commodity Exchange Board of Directors Chairman Işınsu Kestelli said: "As a soft power, gastronomy is a subject that we can deal with in every economic, social and cultural aspect. With our project, we aim to introduce the Aegean Region to the world by integrating thousands of years of life and cuisine culture and rich agricultural production patterns. I would like to thank the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Mayor Tunç Soyer for their support of our project."
Işınsu Kestelli, who also emphasized that she wanted to clarify a misunderstanding about the historical Stock Exchange Palace, which will be the center and one of the application areas of the project, said, “Our historical Stock Exchange Palace was built in 1928 and has a very important place among the monuments of Izmir. With the effect of the earthquake we experienced last year, the strengthening and restoration of our building have become a necessity. For this purpose, we moved from the Stock Exchange Palace to provide our stockbroking services in a different building in the previous days. We plan to start restoration and renovation as soon as possible. There is absolutely no question of transferring our building to any institution in any way. After the renovation, our building will continue to be used for the representation, hosting and events of the Izmir Commodity Exchange. The sections to be determined will be used in different functions and projects of our Exchange, including our gastronomy project. In addition, our historical Stock Exchange Palace will be made more open to the use of the people of Izmir by hosting social, cultural and educational activities with its renewed face. On this occasion, on behalf of our Exchange, I would like to express my gratitude to the Governor of Izmir, Yavuz Selim Köşger, for all the support he has given and will give to the Stock Exchange Palace, whose restoration project was completed with YIKOB."
Speaking at the signing ceremony of the project, which aims to make the Aegean a center of attraction in the national and international gastronomy arena and to be implemented in the historical Stock Exchange Palace, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer said: “Gastronomy for Izmir is not just a form of practice between the kitchen and the table. We start the production of healthy and delicious food in the Aegean the moment when the seed meets the soil and water. We see the starting point of Izmir gastronomy as the struggle against poverty and drought in agriculture. This project, in which we cooperate with the Izmir Commodity Exchange, will be an important center where we document and understand the ancient agricultural and food culture of the Aegean and share it with the world again for the preservation of this culture. It will complete the vision of Izmir's Cittaslow Metropol and accompany the development of our Terra Madre Anadolu fair, the first of which will be held in September 2022, and this will be the window of thousands of years of Aegean agriculture to the world. It will connect the countryside and the city centre, moreover, our past and our future. As our planet experiences the climate crisis, it will multiply the wisdom of the past to find solutions to the problems of the future."
28.12.2021
