Madrid, 26 October 2022 – The Executive Director and the President of the Diputación de Jaén have signed an agreement to host key events in the Andalusian province between November and 1 December.
Executive Director Abdellatif Ghedira and the President of the Diputación de Jaén, Francisco Reyes, signed an agreement to allow Jaén to host various IOC events and meetings. Between 28 November and 1 December 2022, the provincial capital will host the 59th meeting of the Advisory Committee, the plenary of the 116th session of the Council of Members, the prize-giving ceremony of the Mario Solinas Quality Awards and the annual celebrations for World Olive Day.
These events are expected to gather more than 200 people from the 18 members of the Organisation as well as observers and representatives of the producer, packer, distributor and consumer entities that make up the Advisory Committee for Olive Oil and Table Olives.
The activities will begin on Monday 28 November 2022 with the 59th meeting of the Advisory Committee. On Tuesday 29 November, member representatives will visit different sites related to olive oil tourism in the province of Jaén. The guests will see how extra virgin olive oil is produced in a local oil mill, from cultivation to packaging, and see how important this product is in the province’s gastronomy. The plenary of the 116th session of the Council of Members will be held on Wednesday 30 November, before the prize-giving ceremony of the Mario Solinas Quality Awards, the annual international competition to recognise the best extra virgin olive oils in the world. The IOC’s events in Jaén will conclude on Thursday 1 December with a seminar on the role of olive growing in sustainability, quality and health, to celebrate World Olive Day.
Mr Ghedira thanked the Diputación de Jaén on behalf of the Council of Members and the Advisory Committee for their hospitality, and said that he looked forward to showcasing this beautiful olive-growing region to all IOC Members and observers.
Mr Reyes was also pleased to sign this agreement, which will make the capital and, with it, the entire province of Jaén, the setting for these events of great international importance. ‘We want to show the wide range of olive grove and olive oil tourism in our territory, to demonstrate all the great work we have done in recent years to promote these resources and show Jaén as the best place to immerse yourself in this ancient culture in the world’, said Francisco Reyes, adding that the work promoted by the provincial administration to have the Andalusian olive-growing landscapes recognised as World Heritage by UNESCO will also be discussed with the members of the IOC