Empowering SMEs through Geographical Indications

📍How Geographical Indications can empower SMEs in the food sector and boost their competitiveness? How this really works in practice?

Join us on 29.4.2025 and hear the real-life success stories of businesses and institutions that successfully brought new life to their local food traditions, heritage and products. 

The event will present good practices and achievements of SMEOrigin project stakeholders from all across Europe. We will discuss together how we can implement them in other regions and what would really make sense. 

This event is an exciting opportunity for stakeholders across Europe to connect, exchange experiences, and discuss best practices related to SMEs and European Geographical Indications (GIs). Through interactive discussions and workshops, we aim to foster knowledge-sharing and explore the potential transfer of successful regional practices to different territories.

Event Details:

📌 Date: April 29th, 2025

📍 Format: Online (via ZOOM)

🕘 Time: 09:00 – 12:30 (CET)

🎟 Registration: REGISTER HERE

Why Participate?

• Learn from best practices. Gain insights into three successful regional practices and their impact on SMEs and DOP/GIs.
• Participate in the exchange of ideas and analyze challenges and opportunities.
• Help assess the transferability of best practices to different regional contexts.
• Expand your network. Connect with stakeholders, policymakers, and industry experts across Europe.
• Discover the Platform for Exchange of Experience

Agenda:

09:00 – 09:15 | WELCOME & OPENING

09:15 – 09:45 | KEYNOTE SESIONS: "Empowering SMEs through Geographical Indications (GIs)"

Speaker: Virginia Bustos – Unit of Geographical Indications from the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) of the European Commission.

09:45 – 10:45 | REGIONAL GOOD PRACTICES – THEMATIC PRESENTATION

Presentation of  three selected Good Practices grouped into key thematic areas, highlighting successful implementation strategies, advantages, challenges  and potential for replication.

Thematic areas:

1. Regional Branding & Marketing:

2. Enhancing SME Competitiveness through Networking & Collaboration:   

3. Strengthening the Value Chain 

10:45 – 11:15 | SWOT ANALYSIS 

11:15– 11:30   SHORT BREAK 🍵

11:30 – 12:00 | IDEA PITCHING & MARKET PLACE NETWORKING: MEET YOUR PEERS 

·       1-2 minutes presentation to introduce their company, project, or idea.

12:00 – 12:15 Presentation of the Platform for exchange of experience between stakeholders

New platform designed for continuous experience sharing among stakeholders.

12:15 – 12:30 WRAP-UP AND CONCLUSIONS

Register now or contact us if you would like to join the speakers and share your success story!