Essedra

Ana Sayfa > Projects > Essedra

ESSEDRA stands for “Environmentally Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Rural Areas.” Coordinated by Slow Food and co-financed by the Directorate-General for Enlargement of the European Union, the ESSEDRA Project aimed to support the accession process of Balkan countries and Türkiye to the European Union.

The Gastronomic Society of Türkiye participated as a project partner on behalf of Türkiye, alongside nine NGOs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and the United Kingdom, under the leadership of Slow Food. ESSEDRA aimed to empower local civil society organizations working on agriculture, rural development, and food quality, while also addressing related issues such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and the welfare of local communities. The project, implemented between 2012 and 2016, operated on three interconnected levels:

Advocacy activities promoting the role of small-scale farmers in biodiversity conservation; analysis of food system and rural development-related policies, strategic advocacy, and monitoring activities; participation of NGOs from the Balkans and Türkiye in sustainable rural development debates in the public sphere and involvement in policy and decision-making processes.

Support for small-scale food producers, introduction of robust models for biodiversity conservation, and field research on agricultural products at risk of extinction.

Continuous communication activities to reach more people, including workshops, training sessions, responsible consumption campaigns, launching the European Citizens' Initiative to support local food consumption, informing about the impact of policies on daily life in the Balkans and Türkiye, and engaging in policy-making and implementation processes.