Fabio Piccioli, president of IFOAM - AgriBioMediterraneo, other then being part of the foreign sector of ICEA, entered the new IFOAM World Board, just renewed in Modena (Italy) during the world congress. The world directive committee is almost completely renewed; Italy presented two candidates: Alessandro Triantafyllidis (member of the IFOAM Group) and Piccioli: it was the latter the one elected. New IFOAM President is the American Katherine DiMatteo.
"Its a honour to take the place of Antonio Compagnoni in IFOAM World Board - states Piccioli – maintaining in this way an Italian presence in the directive committee in the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. I hope to be up to its high expectations and to fulfil the difficult tasks to be faced by this Board, among which also the review of the Organic Guarantee System. There is also a new challenge to be faced on GMOs, that are currently misleadingly indicated as a solution for world food crisis. Personally, I would also like to contribute to a higher participation in the IFOAM decisional processes of the producers of those parts of the world that more difficultly can make their voice be heard”. For ICEA this nominee follows a very high participation in the event in Modena. ICEA organized conferences and presentations in different sectors. In aquaculture, for instance, was presented the first Italian draft on sustainable fishing; the approval will be within the end of the year. In textile, the focus was on Gots (Global Organic Textile Standard: for more info click here), for which the procedures are about to be completed. For cosmetics, the engagement of creating international standards was officially taken for the 10th of July, during a meeting in Toulouse. Very popular, finally, was the exhibition on international cooperation (in September will be replicated in Sana, Bologna) and the EcoBioEquo market co-organized with Aiab.