From 17 to 19 April 2024 in Douala, Cameroon, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is organising an international conference on the development of geographical indications in Africa, to be held as part of the Trade Fair for protected geographical indication (PGI) products on the African continent.
On 14 November 2023, the AfrIPI Project organised a restitution workshop in Nouakchott, Mauritania on the geographical indication (GI) ‘Poutargue Imraguen’, in collaboration with the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI).
The hybrid workshop was organised with the support of the Delegation of the European Union in Mauritania (DUE), OAPI National Liaison Structure, and Imraguen women processors. National and international authorities were also present, along with civil society associations.
On 18 October 2023, the AfrIPI Project organised a restitution workshop on the geographical indication ‘Pierre de Mbigou’ from Gabon, in collaboration with the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI).
The hybrid workshop was organised with the support of the European Union Delegation in Gabon and was attended by representatives of the Coopérative des Produits Artisanaux de Mbigou (COOPAM), the OAPI National Liaison Structure in Gabon (OGAPI), Internal Trade and Crafts Departments in Libreville.
The AfrIPI project, in collaboration with the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), organised a workshop on the geographical indication Ylang-Ylang des Comores on 15 September 2023 in Moroni, Comoros.
This workshop, supported by the European Union Delegation in Comoros, the AFIDEV project (Support for export sectors and rural development in the Union of the Comoros), and the OAPI National Liaison Office, was honoured by the presence of the Secretary General of the Comoros’ Ministry of Agriculture.
Egypt is working towards adopting a sui generis protection framework for geographical indications (GIs) and their registration. The AfrIPI project and the Egyptian Trademark Office have been exploring various ways to support GIs in Egypt.
The 5th African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Agricultural Ministerial Conference took place on 30 June 2023 in Rome. The event provided an opportunity for AU and EU Ministers of Agriculture to exchange views and share best practices on the development of more resilient food systems and sustainable agriculture value chains.
A roundtable on the role of geographical indications (GIs) in sustainable development was organised on 7 February 2023 by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM). The topic ‘what lessons can be learned to improve the contribution of projects to sustainable development?’ was addressed.
CIRAD and the Agence Française de Développement recently launched the “Geographical Indications Facility”, to run for a period of four years from 2021. Its goal is to provide actors in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States with technical and financial support for the development of geographical indications.
The support workshop for Bandiagara shallot producers in registering their geographical indication (GI) product with the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) opened yesterday in Bamako, Mali. was held from 17 to 18 December, 2019.
Read more: L’OAPI veut labelliser l’échalote de Bandiagara au Mali
The Geographical Indications (GIs) Conference for the ARIPO Member States held from 10 to 12 November 2021 concluded with a promise that GIs from Africa will have a better chance of protection and economic gain.
The Conference defined a strategy amongst the ARIPO Member States to set up a GI legal framework on a regional or national level that would demonstrate the importance of GIs for the national and regional markets.