From the Basque Country to Catalonia, both from the French and the Spanish side, the Pyrenees cover a very extensive area. The amount of co-existing cultures and the complexity of the territory and its population make joint actions very difficult to carry out.
The weekend of the 4th and 5th February, a conference was held in Ainsa (Huesca Pyrenees) supporting the associative promotion for a sustainable development, as well as the launching of a European Pilot Project for the enhancement of the values of the Pyrenees.
In a unique setting, hosting assistents from all the areas of the Pyrenees, the promoters’ interest was to establish synergies between projects which are already in function. The aim was to increase cooperation and the possibility of carrying out different actions.
Summaries of the different speeches can be found on the website (http://www.pyrenemountain.eu/Jornadas_de_Ainsa.html)
RETECORK, represented by Josep Capellà, had the chance to present a project for cork territories in one of the colloquiums that took place during the conference. Also mentionable were the presentation of the Gripia project, enhancing the value of the Xisqueta sheep wool (http://projectegripia.wordpress.com/); from ethnobotany to cosmetics and health, by Marie Pujol (www.nature-et-connaissance.com); or the exposition of tradicional homemade food from Navarra.
The presentation of the “Year of the Pyrenees” was led by Mr. Xavier Bernard Sans, director of the “Consorcio de la Comunidad de Trabajo de los Pirineos”, an organization which manages european programs such as “Interreg IV A Cross-border”, based in Jaca (http://www.pyrineo.eu/?idio=en)