Chi lives on an island knows: the sea is together border and promise. Surrounds and separates. It can be perceived as a limit that hinders or an opportunity that opens new horizons. It imposes distances, but also traces routes that connect stories, cultures and communities.
«I move on this last direction. I commit myself every day to unite what the sea divides »he says Isabel Veraexpert in intercultural tourism and founder of Eurinsula, an association that through the project Islas del Marcreates alliances between places surrounded by the sea To strengthen its political voice, enhance the identities of the islands and stimulate new forms of collaboration. Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Vera lies in Cagliari and is precisely by connecting roots and heart, the Canary Islands and Sardinia, which kicked off three years ago to an initiative capable today to connect over 600 islands, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, from Corsica to Finland.
“I have always loved to discover new places and know cultures other than mine,” he says. A passion that has led her to deal with for over thirty years of the area in which she specializes, a professional path undertaken with the spirit of a pioneer: she was the first woman a Found a travel agency inside the Spanish airports and the first marketing director of a Tour Operator Canario To launch an intercontinental flight. But it is only now that he feels he has found his true mission: to create links between islands and the people who live for them for transform the limit from resource limitto become the protagonist of a new narrative, made of exchanges, meetings and shared future. Not by chance RTVC (Radio Televisión Canaria), Spanish radio and television group, “The ambassador of the islands” nicknamed it: a definition that perfectly contains the meaning of his work.
Women of the islands: fight depopulation
European islands share crucial challenges: Climate vulnerability, geographical insulation, dependence on fossil fuels. “With Islas del Mar – highlights true – these territories confront each other and learn from each other”. They exchange solutions on mobility, such as the 75 percent discount on national flights which the residents of Canaries and Balearics use, and tourism models that put the Culture, Community and Environment Center. Workshop, twinning, itinerant intercultural forums, Like the last held last month in the Azores, they strengthen a dense dialogue that breaks down distances and builds synergies.
Isabel Vera, 54 years old, expert in intercultural tourism and founder of the Eurinsula association.
Environmental safeguarding, enhancement of the local heritage, new forms of energy sustenance, Outmotourism: these are some of the themes at the center of the Eurinsula network, made up of experts, academics, representatives of the institutions and artists. Together they developed there Islas white paper of the sea for the rights of the islands presented by Vera to the European Parliament To give concrete answers to the critical issues of the insularity, turn on the spotlight on potential e obtain the recognition of the islands as strategic territories who have the right to targeted policies on transport, taxation and infrastructure.
«The islands they are the cradle of the old continent. It is time for the European Union to recognize their value all year round and not only in summer “says Vera “Many are facing a serious process of depopulation like Sardiniathe second largest island in the Mediterranean, but among the most depopulated in relation to the surface. The birth rate is the lowest in Italy and young people go away for lack of opportunities. Yet it is a land full of history, traditions and biodiversity, but Tourism is still too seasonal and the territory is often exploited without a sustainable vision. A condition common to many other islands. And that’s why we ask Europe a unique and specific statute with concrete tools ».
A chair on insularity
To increase awareness of the prospects of the island condition and positively influence regional and European policies, The University of Balearics since last year has set up a chair dedicated specifically to insularity: “Generating knowledge through data and research is fundamental” asserts Joana Follow Pons, Professor of human geography and codirector of this model of excellence that has formulated a database on the state of European research in this field: if the guidance themes focus on waste management and on the impact of climate change, There is still little attention to social aspects, such as gender violence.
Women of the islands, less inequalities more female leadership
To fill the inequalities and strengthen the female leadership, was born, within the Islas of the Mar project, The International Forum of Women of the Islands: a network formed by women who tell each other, support themselves and inspire each other. From Stilists like Mary Grace Pisaniwho works with the latest custodians of the knowledge of the texture of the islands, a diplomats such as Anne-Marie Muscat Fenech Adami, Ambassador of Malta for Bulgaria: “Being a woman of the islands means facing the challenges of island life with determination, especially in terms of political participation, sustainable development and climatic policies, areas where an inclusive approach is essential for effective and lasting solutions” observes Muscat. And continue: «We must invest in education, mentoring and leadership opportunities at the local level Think specifically for the insular communities. The representation counts: when the girls see women hold roles of responsibility, they begin to imagine themselves there too ».
Anne-Marie Muscat Fenech Adami, 56 years old, Ambassador of Malta
Good practices to replicate
The forum is not only a moment of comparison, but also an action engine. From conferences to study trips for interscambial knowledge, knowledge and good practices to replicate. Like that de The mining path of Santa Barbara that in Sardinia offers trekking itineraries with the possibility of free overnight stay for women during their stay. A way to encourage female presence.
One of the travels of the Women’s Network of the Islands
A fairytale forest in Sardinia
Culture, the environment are some of the red threads that intertwine in this project which also includes a series of documentaries, under construction, conducted by Vera who launches an appeal: “We are open to collaborate with sponsors or companies that want to support us”. They will be dedicated to European island identity, starting from the internal areas of Sardinia to then reach other islands and return history, traditions and landscapes, suggesting aware travel ideas that respect the territories. It is one of the largest test desks for the islands.
And once again there are women who open streets.
Giulia Balzano, 50, the Archaeologist creator of the “A fairytale forest” project in Pau, in the province of Oristano (Emanuela Meloni)
In this women’s network there is also Giulia Balzano, the archaeologist creator of the “A fairytale forest” project, located inside the beautiful Ossidian archaeological parkin Pau, a small town in the province of Oristano. Is a naturalistic itinerary dotted with large wooden installations of Land Art that reproduce the appearance of animals such as the hedgehog or wolf: “The installations are made by the artists starting from the organic material in the woods. How he ages a tree until death, so These works are intended for a natural degradation And they go to transform over time »explains Balzano who literally escaped from museum rooms to treat an initiative that has had a great feedback in terms of visitors. «The management of this project entrusted toMenabò Associationwhich I am part of, is a challenge. It has currently the duration of one year and includes protection, maintenance, mapping of the paths and above all educational activities in nature. The real success will not determine the numbers of the presences, but if we are able to manage this initiative respecting the territory we are working on ».
The password is responsibility, the same that moves women who do not settle for being spectators, but want to become protagonists of the change of places where you experience, resist and imagine, where the future takes shape, starting from those who live them.
I woman © RESERVED REPRODUCTION