The European Federation of Saint James’ Way gathered over 30 members and partners of the first certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe at its General Assembly in Toulouse, France. The event was co-organized by the French Agency of the Routes to Compostela (AFCC) with the support of the French Ministry of Culture, the Prefecture of the region of Occitanie, the Municipality of Toulouse, its tourist office, Haute-Garonne Departmental Tourism Committee, and the Occitanie Region.
During the opening of the Assembly the delegates were welcomed by Mr. Bruno FAVEL, Representative of France to the EPA and Head of the World Heritage Mission within the French Ministry of Culture, Magali Castillon, conservator of Cultural Heritage, representing the Prefect of the Occitanie Region, Pierre PISANI, head of the heritage department of the municipality of Toulouse, representing the mayor, and Pascal MAZET, Vice Précisident of the French Agency of the Routes to Compostela, representing the President John PALACIN, unable to attend, and the Occitanie Region,
This annual General Assembly finalized the decision to move the headquarters of the European Federation of Saint James Way to Toulouse – a city of significant pilgrim heritage recognized both by UNESCO World Heritage list and Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme, including the Basilica of Saint-Sernin and the Hôtel Dieu-Saint-Jacques.
Major discussions during the General Assembly were focused on the challenges in the management of the pilgrim routes across Europe, mapping and evaluation of trails, and increase of the visibility of the Federation’s activities. The participating members highlighted their best practices from the past year, including major Interreg Projects ULTREIA SUDOE (Spain, France, Portugal) and REliHE (Poland), which aim to research the impact of pilgrimage and religious heritage on the local development, community building and grassroot initiatives.
Ildefonso de la CAMPA, President of the European Federation of Saint James Way, noted that Camino de Santiago is not a route just in south-western Europe, as it is a network that connects most of the continent. “We must all work with our neighbours to convey the importance of the Camino de Santiago in different aspects of our future development as a society: building a Europe centred on the values that define us as a largely democratic continent, respectful of human rights, subject to the rule of law, responsibly free and open to exchange, cooperation and the transfer of knowledge with other peoples. These are the values that our war-torn nations adopted in the last century and which are represented by the Council of Europe” – President de la Campa said.
Newly elected members to the Federation included the Association of Warmian Cities, Towns, and Counties for The Trail of Saint Warmia (Poland) and Regional Tourism Office of Alentejo and Ribatejo (Portugal), which marks the growth of the number of EFSJW to 21 members.
