COOP'ART

This morning the presentation of the workshop took place in the Baix Empordà County Archive. Lluís Sais, Mayor of Bisbal d'Empordà and President of the Patronage of the Terracotta Museum, welcomed the attendees and was pleased to be able to host the first workshop of the project. "We celebrate this transversal project that unites different territories and fosters crafts from a sustainable point of view," said Sais. The Mayor also invited guests to discover why Bisbal is considered the capital of ceramics: «The Terracotta Museum is the small jewel of La Bisbal and you can discover the craft tradition of the municipality».
Next, Isaac Albert i Agut, deputy delegate of Commerce of the Diputació de Barcelona, ​​has declared that it is a pleasure to collaborate with the Diputació de Barcelona, ​​which serves a total of 311 municipalities. "We work to develop a proximity trade model that will bring urban coherence to the municipalities and provide them with stability", he explained. Albert also wanted to pay particular attention to the role played by the Diputació Barcelona, ​​emphasizing that there are important synergies that must be put in place, so that the artisan, the commerce and the territory win. "We want to know what we have in the territory and what is lacking: crafts value the territory and commerce of the municipalities," the deputy has sentenced.
There has also been an intervention by Loïc Gojard, Mayor of Martres-Tolosane, who explained that Bisbal d'Empordà is a reference in the rehabilitation of a factory in the French municipality. In addition, the market study promoted by the project leader, the Chambre Régionale de Métiers et de l'Artisanat Occitanie / Pyrenées-Mediterranée) has been presented, on the subject of artistic trades as a vector of tourist attraction from a territory. To round off the evidence, the Baix Empordà Regional Archive also hosted the presentation of the specific studies developed by the different partners: the City Council of La Bisbal has exhibited a study of models of ceramics fairs. In the afternoon, it is expected that groups will be organized in order to reflect on a common valuation strategy of artistic craft in relation to tourism.
Tomorrow, Friday, will be when the second board of directors of the project will be held. During this session, the state of progress of the project will be reviewed for actions, budgets, results and indicators, as well as at the administrative level. At the same time, there will also be a meeting among craft professionals: French companies will be able to meet the artisan people of La Bisbal. A presentation of the Ceramistes de la Bisbal Association will also be organized, a visit to a Bisbalan ceramics workshop and a visit to the Terracotta Museum. All the programming can be consulted through the website of the Bisbal Town Hall.
COOP'ART (EFA219 / 16) is a project developed by different Catalan and French partners in order to promote a shared strategy for innovation and sustainable development of craftsmanship within the framework of the POCTEFA European territorial cooperation program. It is also intended to improve the artistic and economic potential of craft companies and develop the cultural heritage and tourist attraction of the territories. It is, therefore, a project created to promote the sustainable development of the cross-border territory, and in which economic cooperation projects co-financed by the actors of both sides of the Pyrenees are co-financed. Thus, the objectives of the initiative is to promote a shared strategy.
The project has been co-financed at 65% by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Program (POCTEFA 2014-2020). The objective of POCTEFA is to strengthen the economic and social integration of the border Spain-France-Andorra. His help concentrates on the development of cross-border economic, social and environmental activities through joint strategies in favor of sustainable territorial development.
 
Project co-financed by the ERDF