The General Directorate of Commerce of Andalucía, hosted the fifth face-to-face meeting of the National Crafts Observatory that was held at the facilities of the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage, IAPH in Seville. The head of the Andalusian Trade and Craft Promotion service, Salvador Puentes, led the meeting in which the craft managers of each autonomous community shared their different public policies on crafts.
During the meeting, there were also representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, who informed us about the new subsidies that could be of interest to the sector. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) was also invited to talk about the progress in terms of the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products. Once this regulation is finally approved, geographical indications (GIs), which up to now were used mainly for foods and beverages, will be enlarged to industrial products whose qualities are essentially linked to the area of production, such as Bohemian glass, Limoges porcelain or Solingen cutlery.
Representatives of the public administrations of 11 autonomous communities (Andalusia, Principality of Asturias, the Canary Islands, Castilla y León, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarra, Mallorca, La Rioja, the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia) participated in the meeting, as well as the National Reference Center for Crafts and the organization of artisans from Spain.
The Observatory was re-established in June 2021 within the framework of the European Crafts Code project, when the need to collaborate between public agents in the artisan sector was detected to face the challenges of the sector and define common strategies.
