Euromontana, an organization based in Brussels – of which UNIMONT is a Board member – together with the CIA, have organized the first on-site conference after the Covid-19 emergency in a truly emblematic place: Calabria! Calabrian mountains, for their beauty, uniqueness and the wealth of local agri-food production, highlight the great potential of mountain territories, also, and even more, in a region traditionally burdened by emigration and socio-economic difficulties but with several mountain ranges.
Representatives from over 10 European countries – scholars, administrators from a local to a regional level, entrepreneurs, politicians – met in Camigliatello Silano, in the Sila mountains, to share ideas and discuss how to promote the paradigm shift in the mountains: from marginal, internal, disadvantaged areas to “Smart” territories capable of transforming specific resources into economic and social value, contributing to the competitiveness of the European states to which they belong and the entire European Union.
Technology, innovation in methods and tools, specific training and dedicated policies, especially for strategic sectors for the mountains such as agriculture, tourism and youth entrepreneurship, these are the topics covered, also thanks to Dr. Stefano Sala, who presented the results of the UNIMONT study on policies for mountain areas in various EU and non-EU countries.
The conference in Sila was also an opportunity for the UNIMONT team to meet Noemi Guzzo, a young Calabrian entrepreneur, who attended UNIMONT’s specialization course in “Project management” in 2021, and who manages successful tourism-educational activities in Lorica, providing new opportunities for enchanting places – between forests and lakes – and practical job opportunities for local young people.
Young people are returning to the mountains: ours – universities and public and private institutions for territorial management and promotion of sustainable development processes – is the task of helping them to stay!!
For further information see the Euromontana website.
