Join IGCAT, Slow Food, Crop Trust, the Food Capitals by Délice Network, and many other global organisations, as well as IGCAT experts, cultural leaders, policymakers, chefs, and producers uniting behind the World Gastronomy Summit Declaration on Food at the Heart of Cultural Policy and Community Well-being.
The cut-off date to add your signature is 27 September 2025, when the Declaration will be announced in Catalonia, World Region of Gastronomy 2025.
The Declaration calls on governments, international organisations, regional bodies, and civil society to join us in:
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Recognising food as cultural heritage, and integrating it fully into cultural, agricultural, tourism, and education policies;
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Supporting local and regional initiatives that promote sustainable food systems grounded in evolving cultural traditions, promoting cuisine and its ingredients;
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Empowering youth and communities to preserve and innovate upon their gastronomic heritage with pride, investing in producers and protecting regions’ ways of life;
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Encouraging research and storytelling that document and celebrate food traditions across the globe;
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Fostering inclusive dialogue that bridges cultures and generations through the shared language of food.
This Declaration is inspired by UNESCO’s leadership in recognising foodways as part of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, and marking 15 years since UNESCO recognised the Mediterranean diet as intangible cultural heritage, we reaffirm the critical role of gastronomy in safeguarding cultural diversity and fostering intercultural dialogue. From traditional farming and artisanal preparation to festive rituals and everyday meals, UNESCO’s work on foodways highlights the richness and vulnerability of our shared food heritage.
Let this Declaration stand as a milestone in a growing global movement that calls for gastronomy to be placed at the heart of cultural policy and community well-being.
Together, we commit to nourishing both people and planet through the protection and celebration of one of humanity’s most profound cultural expressions — the food that defines us.
Originally approved by IGCAT members at their Annual Advisory Forum on 18 June, the Declaration aims to place gastronomy at the heart of cultural policy.
Add your voices to this global movement by signing and sharing the Declaration!
