THE PICENO LAB ON MEDITERRANEAN DIET, FERMO AREA AND THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT COMPETITION

1. THE PICENO LAB ON MEDITERRANEAN DIET, FERMO AREA AND THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT COMPETITION BACKGROUND CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT PATHS

2. Agenda A B Marche Region Seismic crater The Piceno Lab of Mediterranean Diet The ISC Fermo area Demographic, economic, and social background Demographic, economic, and social background What about the earthquake? Story, projects and activities Educational Tourism and Experiential Learning for territorial promotion C D E

3. Marches are the Italian landscape more typical and, like Italy with its landscapes and works of art is a distillate of the world, the Marches are a distillate of Italy. Guido Piovene "Viaggio in Italia“, 1966 9.401 sq. km 229 municipalities 5 provinces

4. MARCHE REGION A regions as a chessboard “Comb” structure Apart from the Nera river, in the Marche region rivers mostly torrential, descend from the mountains defininga sub-parallel trend, so-called comb. They are: Conca, Marecchia, Foglia, Metauro, Cesano, Misa, Esino, Musone, Potenza, Chienti, Tenna, Aso and Tronto. The region is a sort of chessboard, divided into several sectors There are at least four vertical “stripes”:  the sea, the plain, the hill and the mountain. 31% Mountain 2.913,85 sq. km 33% Hill 3.302,13 sq. km 34% Coast 3.185,40 kmq sq. km

5. MARCHE REGION Population (Istat 2017) 1.531.753inhabitants 646.820 families 163inhabitant sq. km 10.669births 18.449deaths

6. MARCHE REGION Economy • Medium and small scale industries, often family-run. • Shoes, clothing and furniture manufacture are amongst the most successful businesses • Marche's economy is mostly based on industrial districts (place where workers and firms, specialized in a main industry and auxiliary industries, live and work).

7. MARCHE REGION level of unemployment (2017) Employment by sector of activity (2017)

8. MARCHE REGION financial and economic crisis • The financial and economic crisis has strongly hit the region since 2008, causing a deterioration in • economic performance, investment propensity, employment opportunities and prospects. • The crisis affected in particular firms and sectors which are less export oriented. GDP (GrossDomesticProduct)* per inhabtants (2017) *GrossDomesticProductrepresentsthemonetaryvalueof all goods and servicesproducedwithin a nation'sgeographicbordersover a specifiedperiodof time.

9. MARCHE REGION Cultural heritage and tourism Arrivals and overnights (2017)

10. FERMO AREA 17.144 inhabitants 26.408 inhabitants 37.238 inhabitants 174.338inhabitants 863 sq. km 40 municipalities

11. FERMO AREA Economy • Agriculture and fishing are important factors in the local economy. • This area presents a developed agriculture both in the traditional cultivations (cereals, olive tree, grapes,) and in the new fields (vegetables, fruits). • Fishing has remarkable importance above all for Porto San Giorgio. The most flourishing food industries (i.e. canning and refrigeration) of the Adriatic coast, tied to the fishing activity, are concentrated here. • Shoes, hats and fashion wear are the most successful businesses • This area is suffering from the effects of Europe’s post-2008 recession. Fermo’s Chamber of Commerce reported that the number of registered companies in the area fell by around 250 in 2013.

12. FERMO AREA Tourism In 2017 Fermo area registered 202.155 arrivals and 1.497.965 overnights. Tourism, beyond the city of Fermo, counts in always greater measure on the seaside resorts of the Adriatic coast: in 2017 the main destinations were Fermo, Porto San Giorgio and Porto Sant’ Elpidio, but…

13. SEISMIC CRATER The "seismic crater" extends for a total of about 8,000 km2, corresponding to the17.4% of the total area of the 4 regions involved. Half of the "seismic crater" is in the Marche and corresponds to more than 40% of the regional territory. In the region, there are 87 of the 140 municipalities of the crater, mostly located in the southern provinces of Macerata and Ascoli Piceno.

14. SEISMIC CRATER population • Before the earthquake, in 2016, 350.616 people lived in the Marche crater. • It was the less densely populated area (88 inhabitants per km2) than the regional average (164 inhabitants per km2): the decline of the region's population mainly affected the crater area because of the migration of the working age population to coastal and industrialized areas. • According to a recent report by CNA Marche, in the 87 crater municipalities, between 2016 and 2017 the population passed 350.616 inhabitants to 347.774, registering a decrease of 2.392 residents.

15. The economic structure before the earthquake SEISMIC CRATER Economy After the earthquake, in the Marche municipalities of the crater, 497 businesses stopped operating and didn’t reopened:135 of which are linked to tertiary, 120 are traders (bars, greengrocers, fish shops, food shops, etc.) and 242 are farms, with a decrease of about 1.500 jobs.

16. SEISMIC CRATER Enterprises in tourism sector tourism Seismic events had a significant impact on the reduction of tourist movements, but before the earthquake, in the period 2009-2016, the number of enterprises involved in tourism services and professional activities increased, both in the Marche and in the crater. In particular, the number of employees working in the catering and accommodation sectors, typically linked to the tourism sector, increased by 50% in the crater area, This trend is confirmed by arrivals, that in the period 2013-2016 increased. Tourism trends (2013-2017)

17. SEISMIC CRATER New development paths: agri-food and educational tourism Crater area, partially corresponding to Fermo area, presents a lot of weaknesses, in terms of depopulation, distance from essential services and, because of the earthquake, practicality of buildings and tourist attractions. On the other hand, this area has a strong Touristic potential in terms of environmental resources, tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In this system an important role is played by typical products, because they embody a series of values and knowledge that belong to the story of the territory. This inimitable competitive advantage can play an important role in the development of sustainable tourism. An important tool to promote this territory is represented by educational and experiential tourism. In this context the International Student Competition could play and important role.

18. The ISC HOW DID WE GET THERE? IV edition 2019

19. At the very beginning… Flaminio Fidanza 1957 Ancel Keys 1947 Lifestyle Diet Longevity MediterraneanDiet Montegiorgio (FM) wastakenas an italianexample of wellbeing, health, good way of living and eating, pleasure of beingtogether and longevity.

20. World Intangible Heritage The Mediterranean diet involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly the sharing and consumption of food. Eating together is the foundation of the cultural identity and continuity of communities throughout the Mediterranean basin. It is a moment of social exchange and communication, an affirmation and renewal of family, group or community identity. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes values of hospitality, neighbourliness, intercultural dialogue and creativity, and a way of life guided by respect for diversity. It plays a vital role in cultural spaces, festivals and celebrations, bringing together people of all ages, conditions and social classes. It includes the craftsmanship and production of traditional receptacles for the transport, preservation and consumption of food, including ceramic plates and glasses. Women play an important role in transmitting knowledge of the Mediterranean diet: they safeguard its techniques, respect seasonal rhythms and festive events, and transmit the values of the element to new generations. Markets also play a key role as spaces for cultivating and transmitting the Mediterranean diet during the daily practice of exchange, agreement and mutual respect. 2013 In 2013 Fermo Territorywasinvolved in a EU URBACT project aboutPlace Branding creating a Local Action Plan to boost the importance of MediterraneanDietas a distinctive resource to foster the image of the place.

21. The Project(s) Five cities working together to promote gastronomy as a key urban development.

22. The Piceno Lab on MediterraneanDiet Private and Public stakeholders committed in the promotion of MediterraneanDietas a lifestyle and a sustainable model for increasing the value of Fermo Territoryallowingits growth focusing on itsauthentic and unique resources.

23. Whathasbeendone so far? The Piceno Lab on MediterraneanDiet • OBJECTIVES: • Promotion of MediterraneanDietas an healthy lifestyle; • Increasing the value of MediterraneanDiet food products; • EducationaboutMetiterraneanDiet for local stakeholders involved in food service; • Educationabout properties and benefits of MediterraneanDiet for school students; • Medical/Scientific research on the relationship betweenMediterraneanDiet and Marche Region’s food and gastronomy; • Historical reasearchabout ancient traditional recipes and dishesbased on MediterraneanDiet. 18 Nov. 2014 ASSOCIATION!

24. The Piceno Lab on Mediterranena Diet What has been done so far? Quality fairs and festivals (e.g. Festival Mediterraneo) Expo 2015 Participation in Food Events (e.g.: Tipicità in the city – Fermo) Taking part to european projects (e.g. FoodBiz) International Student Competition International Conference on MediterraneanDiet

25. The ISC Place branding: MEDITERRANEAN DIET AS AN UMBRELLA BRAND! Cultural and food tourism + health and wellbeing tourism Purposes: add value to tourists’ cultural and wellbeing experience, contribute to the local welfare not only from an economic perspective, but also in terms of community empowerment. Students could have an active role in promoting the Fermo territory through social media by leveraging on Mediterranean Diet lifestyle and associated health and wellbeing benefits. Scholars, students and local entrepreneurs together in a five-days event to allow a real-time promotion of the Fermo territory using ICT tools. Experiential learning format: discover how to carry out a social media promotion aimed at supporting place branding, by linking Mediterranean Diet gastronomy and lifestyle to the Fermo territory. (Cavicchi et al., 2017) Ritchie (2003, p. 18) defines Educational Tourism as a “tourist activity undertaken by those who are undertaking an overnight vacation and those who are undertaking an excursion for whom education and learning is a primary or secondary part of their trip”.

26. The ISC

27. Meaningfulexperience… “The ISC allowed me to explore the untouched beauty of Fermo territory and to taste the local food and experience the richness of the Mediterranean Diet.” “It was a great experience to meet the stakeholders; it helped us understand how tourism industry works especially throughout the territory. It gave me a clear picture of the practical network of the significant stakeholders.”  “Apparently, the best way to learn something is to experience it, see, touch and taste it. It’s a much more effective way of learning than reading theory, so ISC gave me a very profound and practical insight about local food and wine culture and cooking and sharing food traditions.” “It allows you to have a direct contact with reality. It opens your mind because it gives you the opportunity to work in a multicultural context with people who have different backgrounds and compare your approach to the same experience with that of others. It is an opportunity to work on real case studies with a multidisciplinary knowledge you need to apply to the context. It’s useful, from a future career point of view, thanks to the contact with several stakeholders and to the international and multicultural context in which participants are involved.”

28. THANK YOU and enjoy!