PUNTOITALY N°1 -January - June 2012

16 SHARED OBJECTIVES Interview What does Artglace represent in the international panorama of artisan gelato? Set up in 1988, Artglace is the body representing European artisan gelato makers, and brings together the associations of nine countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Czech Republic and Spain. It is inter- national in character, autonomous and independent, non-po- litical and without party affiliations, and not-for-profit. What are the main initiatives being undertaken to sup- port the development of artisan gelato in the world? Right now we are trying to appoint a pool of European ex- perts who, in the period when candidates are most plenti- ful, will run training courses in collaboration with the Chambers of Commerce in all those countries where the habit of artisan gelato consumption is not yet widespread. You are approaching the end of your mandate as Art- glace president. Can you sum up your work over these two years? I must stress that the achievements of the last two years are to be attributed to the active collaboration of the Artglace’s en- tire Governing Board. During these two years, the “European Artisan Gelato Day” was instituted (24 March). In 2009, a In order to present artisan gelato as a competitive force on world markets, it is important to pursue common strategies involving all players along the whole production chain. This is the view of Ferdinando Buonocore, President of Artglace - European Confederation of artisan gelato associations.