Tuesday, the 18th of October, Raimond Blasi councillor of Commerce of the City of Barcelona, presented the MED EMPORION project results to a delegation of around 50 MED and EU officials, which were in Barcelona with occasion of the 7th MED Monitoring Committee.

Raimond Blasi and the General Manager of the Barcelona Institute of Markets (IMMB) offered a reception in one of the last remodelled markets of the city, the Concepció Market. Raimond Blasi exposed the benefits of the markets for the citizens in terms of social cohesion, to encourage job creation and revitalization of commerce and the ability for the city to use it as a tool for urban planning. He also explained the so-called Barcelona Model of Markets Management, based on a successful public-private partnership, either in management and financing terms.
 

The Manager of the IMMB, Jordi Torrades, explained the contribution of the MED EMPORION project to the MED Program goals (to strengthen the competitiveness, the employment and the sustainable development in our Mediterranean cities), its mean features and the objectives reached, and detailed what was the contribution to the project of each partner: the cities of Barcelona, Torino and Genova, together with de Conservatoria dell Piemonte and the Conservatoire des Cuisines de la Mediterranée of Marseille. 

Very positive outcomes.

The objectives of our project are:

1. The identification of the common potentials and values of the markets of the Mediterranean zone as key elements in the trade of proximity and the articulation of the populations.

2. To study the importance of food markets in the Mediterranean area as a tool of urban development, economic promotion and employment generation.

3. The Promotion of the local food products and promotion of the relationship between the countryside and the city: Mediterranean diet, sustainability, slow food, food sovereignty.

4. The Improvement of the social responsibility of markets in their social environment and to study its role as a tool for social cohesion.

5. And the creation of a net to exchange good practices, elaboration of recommendations and guides to improve market trade and market exchanges.

We are happy to say that the MED EMPORION project has been so far a very active project and obtained a big impact in the general public, thanks to the combination of open activities for all the citizens, like big market Fairs and a very practical conception of our pilot projects, which in many occasions involved the citizens and professionals.

Its main features are:

1. FOUR BIG MARKET FAIRS, which combined, attracted more than 430.000 visitors in their first editions.

Its aim was to promote trade and to spread the reality of the Mediterranean markets, their values and their characteristic products among the general public and to allow a contact between market traders and operators from east-west and north -south of the Mediterranean zone.

Our citizen's response has been so enthusiastic, that the Barcelona Institute of Markets has decided to make a second edition of this Fair, as well as Torino. It's likely that Genova also organizes again a second Edition of the Fair the next year.

2. MED EMPORION has also worked in 4 interesting pilot projects, such

Genova: Its pilot project financed the studies for the remodelling of an old market placed in historical centre (Il mercato delle Carmine), together with the planning of a new internal conception to ensure its success. The market has been renovated, it has been created a regional winery, and it has been established a new management system in Consortium.

Marseille: Marseille has drafted a Charter of the farmers selling products in the city markets, a very extended and popular activity in some French cities. But these traders lacked of duly certification of its products as well as an adequate promotion. Marseille has drafted a very ambitious Chart with a participatory process among sellers and cititzens, which ensures the certification of the products, a more sound management of this markets and the proposal of setting up new ones in other city areas.

Barcelona: The purpose of the Pilot Project of Barcelona is to convey the values of the market as a social space and a service of proximity to the school, the family and the citizenship. To this aim, it has been developed a complete educational program for the schools between 6 and 16 years, consisting in pedagogic materials and activities for the classroom, and includes markets visits and a specifically-designed website. 2.215 students have participated to the pilot project as such, and more than 4.000 in the first implementation year. The expectorations for the current year are even bigger.

Torino: Torino has in fact developed several pilot projects in one: first, it studied the impact of tourism to its markets, especially the one of PortaPalazzo and created a touristic itinerary with edition of leaflets and involvement of the market traders. It resulted in the reorganization of the PortaPalazzo area's and surroundings. Moreover, it has developed three Researches: One on the Social Identity of the Market's area, another on the Urban Local Plan and its consequences, and an finally a photographic research on the Market daily life.

 3. The drafting of a comprehensive Research with two sections:

o on the new challenges and opportunities for our Markets in the years to come, leaded by Barcelona

o on the presence of product of proximity in the markets, leaded by the Conservatoria of Piemonte.

One of the additional outputs of this Research will be the edition of a Guidebook of best practices in markets management,  as well as a policy recommendations document addressed to the European and local authorities in charge of markets.

4. An active web page, which has had a big diffusion because of the publishing of news of our Market Fairs.

5. The signature of the Manifesto of Barcelona on Markets, to which participated representatives of many Mediterranean cities (among them Istambul, Florence or Venice), with the aim of increasing the importance of markets in our Political Agenda.

The project is already coming to its end (March of the next year). And the project partner's balance can't be clearer: many activities continue to be implemented or have been inserted in Local Action Plans, ensuring its sustainability, the Fairs will be organized again, the citizens response has been enthusiastic and the Researches, Networks and analysis done have helped us to define the strategies to better face our future.