Food Unites: Celebrating Multicultural Cooking at Ioannina’s Kitchen Symposium
The Municipality of Ioannina in the framework of the EPIC project organised an open international kitchen symposium entitled: “MMM…ULTICULTURAL COOKING: MIXING FLAVOURS – MATCHING NATIONS”.
The event was held on Wednesday 26 April 2023 at 12:00 to 15:00 at the courtyard of the Pyrsinella Mansion (Papazoglou 8-10).
The aim of the symposium was to share the cultural characteristics of each nation through the use of unique ingredients, techniques, aromas and flavours, enhancing a mutual interaction that would lead to the strengthening of the integration of immigrants and refugees in the local community.
Of decisive importance for the successful implementation of the symposium was the support of the Public Vocational Institution of Ioannina, as a large number of instructors and students responded positively and took care of finding the necessary materials, their preparation and the cooking process in collaboration with refugees and asylum seekers who suggested the recipes for the menu.
Τhe contribution of the Intercultural Social Integration Center “Academy” for the organisation of the event was οf particular importance, as well. More specifically, “Academy” carried out the search and finding of people from the refugee population of the area with cooking skills, who suggested the specialties of their nations and agreed to participate in the cooking process, while simultaneously, “Academy” provided interpretation services in French and Arabic throughout the event. Interpretation support was also provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), through its Farsi interpretation service.
The event was attended by the Mayor of Ioannina, Dimitris Papageorgiou, the Deputy Mayor of Social and Immigration Policy, Ms Christina Kotsanti, the Secretary General of the Municipality of Ioannina, Mr Vasilios Zografos, the Director of the Social Protection Department of the Municipality of Ioannina, Ms. Kalliroi Zikidou-Dasi, as well as other employees of municipal services and representatives of social organisations active in the area, NGOs and reception facilities.
The event was open to the public, while attendees had the opportunity to taste specialties from Syria, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Greece, along with a recipe from the Jewish community of Romaniotes in Ioannina, in memory of our dearly departed Mayor Moses Elisaf.
Footage of the event is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ugReSwWkE
The Municipality of Ioannina, the Social Protection Department of the Municipality of Ioannina and the partners of the EPIC project would like to warmly thank all those who contributed to the organisation and implementation of this event, as well as all the attendees for their positive contribution to the successful outcome of the symposium.
