Next to the classic discussion of European project meetings (administrative and financial questions, content discussion on our next publication – a handbook & the Alpine roadmap on quality of life, ongoing activities within our pilot territories and the organisation of our final conference), we focused on discovering the local reality of a small French municipality in the South of France. This entailed meeting local actors and inhabitants, testing French gastronomy and hearing about the reality of French local associations.
Françoise Bellanger, member of the Veynes municipal council, organised a tour of the village & the staff of the Resource Center welcomed us for our partner meeting on the first day by organising an intercultural reception, called « Apéro » in French, with participants of the local workshops, local stakeholders, and project partners (a big thank you again for their hospitality!).
What is the Resource Center ?
The Resource Center traces its origins back 44 years to a pioneering idea to pool resources across the region, with the aim of providing services to everyone – services that had previously been out of reach for many stakeholders. This initiative remains, even today, an inspiring initiative and is essential to the cultural vitality of the rural region around Veynes. By bringing together a network of around a hundred associations, the Resource Center provides resources to promote access to culture, artistic expression and civic engagement.
Finally we can sum up that this 3rd GOVQoL partner meeting brought Europe to local level and to the small municipality Veynes ! A multilingual, transnational and cultural exchange around the topic of quality of life which shows that we are fighting for the same purpose across Alpine countries.
“This is the first time in my life that I feel I’ve played a part in building Europe! Thank you for organising the local workshops in Veynes on quality of life.” (comment from a resident of Veynes)
Stay tuned to know more about what has been going on in pilot territories & to be the first to know when the handbook is out!
