This webinar provided an overview of the missions carried out, heard testimonials from two experts, a soil scientist and a geographer, and allowed participants from all backgrounds to take the floor and talk about the work they've done. The richness of the exchanges highlighted the great value of the network they make up, its impartiality, its competence and its importance in ensuring the reliability of delimitation decisions taken by the INAO.

Experts, an essential cog in the wheel for geographical indications

In her introductory remarks, Ms Carole Ly, Director of the INAO, praised the commitment of experts to their missions and their essential role in implementing public policy on geographical indications. Led by the Institute's delimitation engineers, experts are chosen for their scientific and technical skills. They are proposed by the INAO, which ensures their neutrality and independence from the appellation to be delimited. The experts define the delimitation criteria.

A rich and highly involved network of experts

In 2023, 332 experts were referenced in the INAO directory. 154 have been involved in commissions over the past 5 years. The network offers a very broad range of skills, with over 20 scientific disciplines represented. 10 new experts have joined the collective over the 2022-2023 period. The expert commissions, generally made up of 3 to 4 members, numbered 116 with a current mission in 2023, as the INAO's national committees appoint around twenty new commissions each year. Each expert carried out an average of 6 days of missions in 2022, the range being from 1 to 23 days.

An exciting mission with a significant human dimension

In their speeches, the experts emphasized the benefits they derived from their experience of commissions of inquiry: richness of human relations and diversity of interlocutors, confrontation of theoretical knowledge with realities in the field, intellectual stimulation deriving from the multidisciplinary approach...

To facilitate the integration of new experts into the network, they highlighted the importance of forging closer links between INAO agents and the research and higher education communities.

The webinar concluded with a proposal to organize a new event in early 2025, which would address in greater detail the issues of sustainability and adaptation to climate change.