Cheese symposium to be held in Turkey’s east

KARS

A cheese symposium which will bring together academics from Turkey and many other countries to discuss the issues surrounding Turkey’s local and artisanal cheese sector will be held in the eastern province of Kars between July 15 and 17. The symposium, titled “Local Artisanal Cheeses in Turkey and in the World: The Use of Geographical Indication for Kars Kaşarı Cheese,” will be held upon a call by the Boğatepe Environment and Life Association and Ekomüze Zavot. 

The participants will discuss what the geographical indications for Kars’ kaşarı cheese and other cheeses mean in terms of the components of the cheese sector and scientists. Prof. Artun Ünsal, Anderas Bigler, Prof. Gerard Corsane, Prof. Neşe Özgen, Prof. Srbinovskai and Prof. Zafer Yenal will be among the participants of the symposium, which aims to bring the food chains and supply relations regarding cheese into discussion. 

In addition, the participants will discuss the differences of local traditional cheeses from industrial cheeses in Turkey and the world. The boundaries of protection of the geographical indication and the opportunities it provides regarding preservation of local cheeses, local tastes, knowledge of tradition and rural societies are also among the topics to be discussed. 

Simultaneous translation from English and Turkish will be available during the event, which will include discussions on cheese as an artisanal art, the changing definitions of local and traditional in cheese and cheesemaking and the role of cheesemaking in the formation of cultural belonging. 

The symposium will start at 9 a.m. on July 15 in Kafkas University and the participants will visit the Boğatepe village to see presentations and taste different cheeses on July 17. 

The symposium will be carried out with the sponsorship of the Serhat Development Agency, the Boğatepe Environment and Life Association, Kafkas University, Metro Markets, the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry, the Kars Governor’s Office, the Municipality of Kars, the Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Friends of the Kitchen Association, Logos Communication Agency, Slow Food Kars Convivium, Slow Food Balcony Gardens Convivium, Slow Food İzmir Bardacık Convivium and the Development Ministry.