Within the framework of the activities of the European Union Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP), the French presidency of EUSALP, the French State and the Regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté organised on Thursday, December 10, 2020, the 4th EUSALP Annual Forum by videoconference from Marseille.
This Annual Forum took place in two parts: the first one, political, in the morning with the General Assembly, to draw up the assessment of this year of French presidency impacted by the COVID-19. The second time included different thematic workshops open to the public, in the afternoon.
The General Assembly from 9:30 am to 12:00 am
The political morning brought together the political representatives of the States and Regions involved in EUSALP under the aegis of the European Commission.
The speakers :
- Renaud MUSELIER, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, President of French Regions ;
- Marie-Guite DUFAY, President of the Region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté ;
- Laurent WAUQUIEZ, President of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region;
- Raffaele CATTANEO, Minister for the Environment of the Lombardy Region; representing the Italian presidency of EUSALP in 2019;
- Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner in charge of cohesion and reforms;
- Herbert DORFMANN, Member of the European Parliament, leader of the group of members of the European Parliament "Friends of EUSALP" ;
- Joël GIRAUD, Secretary of State in charge of Rural Affairs
5 priority topics at the heart of the General Assemby:
- Presentation of a motion on storm Alex and the appeal to the EU Solidarity Fund;
- Mountainous tourism in the Alpine region : from sanitarian crisis management to adaptation to climate change;
- Faced with climate, sanitarian and economic crisis, a united, sustainable and resilient Alpine region: from commitments to implementation;
- Keep working together on EUSALP implementation.
Conclusions were made by Renaud MUSELIER, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, President of Regions of France and Joël GIRAUD, French State Secretary for Rural Areas.
[See here a short statement of findings of this General Assembly]
Review of the the workshops from 1 pm to 6pm
You can find attached to this post all the presentations of the afternoon.
1:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.: Alpine youth commit to a resilient Alpine region in the face of climate change
The participants discussed the role of young Alpine people and their commitment to a climate-resilient Alpine region, with notable interventions by Nicolas PLAIN, Ambassador of the French Presidency and Camille ETIENNE, a young activist fighting against the climate change. This workshop illustrated the involvement of young Alpine people through the presentation of the 5 best projects of the "Pitch Your Project" competition, followed by a vote of the participants to select the 3 best projects and the awarding of the prizes; result of the Alpine Convention's photo competition; and presentation of the "Youth manifesto" of the European Commission followed by an interactive time of exchange with young people.
[See here the minutes of the workshop]
3:25 p.m. - 4:25 p.m.: At the heart of the Alpine Green Deal - Three parallel workshops: Energy transition, forests, dialogue between young people and decision-makers
The first was on macro-regional strategies, Interreg and the EU's sustainable energy policy agenda: why is cooperation important? It was an opportunity to show how macro-regional strategies, with the example of EUSALP, and Interreg programmes contribute to the implementation of the EU sustainable energy agenda and the European Green Pact through presentations of good practices and an interactive discussion with the audience.
[See here the minutes of the workshop]
The second focused on multifunctionality of the Alpine forests: which uses, which conflicts? The lessons and conclusions of this workshop will be used for the future work of the 5 action groups that form the task force on multifunctional forests and sustainable use of wood. The economic, environmental and social benefits of multifunctional forests for the territories and populations of the alpine region will be highlighted, as well as their importance in the context of the energy transition at the European level.
[See here the minutes of the workshop]
Finally, this workshop on the Alpine Green Deal closed with the awarding of the Alpine Convention's Young Academics Awards, dedicated to young researchers who have dedicated their master thesis to relevant Alpine themes, and presentation of the YAFA (Youth Act for Alps) project, which enables meetings between young Alpine people and decision-makers to take into account the vision of young people in the policies of the Alpine region.
[See here the minutes of the workshop]
4:35 p.m. - 6:05 p.m.: The sustainable and resilient Alpine region is preparing in EUSALP action groups
To conclude this Annual Forum, the participants exchanged views on a key issue: how the sustainable and resilient Alpine region prepares itself in the EUSALP action groups. The programme included reflections on how the projects carried out with the action groups feed into policies at the European level for a sustainable and resilient Alpine region; presentation of the main achievements of 2020 and initiatives in the context of the health and environmental crisis; political dialogue on the topics of innovation as a key to sustainable development and the fight against climate change in the framework of EUSALP.
[See here the minutes of the workshop]
This event was an opportunity to reveal the latest video clip on Alpine solidarities during the COVID crisis. You will find all our productions on our YouTube channel:
This day also marks the extension of the French Presidency for the year 2021.
Maseille
