A delegation of Mayors from the Junin district in Peru visited Rome and the Metropolitan area of Rome from 6th to 8th November 2019, meeting with Rome’s ULG members in occasion of the city’s 5th URBACT ULG meeting to jointly observe experiences of social inclusion, urban agriculture, green and circular economy, as well as how agricultural activities are being integrated within urban contexts in Rome. The purpose of their visit was to explore possible means of cooperation with the European Union in the fields of innovative agriculture and tourism. The Peruvian delegation traveled to Rome in representation of a commonwealth of 26 municipalities situated in Peru’s agricultural central Amazon area, the Mancomunidad Municipal por la integración de Sierra y Selva, with the goal to launch a virtuous process of sustainable development in their territory thanks to cooperation with the EU.
During the first day of their visit, the delegation visited the Cooperativa Sociale Garibaldi (www.garibaldi.coop) , an urban farm set up as the laboratory of the Agricultural Institute G.Garibaldi in Rome. This coop is committed to the social and employment inclusion of young adults suffering from autism, functioning as a normal farm and is the experimental headquarters of new training courses in its three hectares of cultivated land. Young people come to work with their assistants, selected and paid by their families, under the supervision of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Rome. "Our goal is to make these young adults actors of their destiny, with the dignity of the worker and not that of the passive client, meeting in a day center where they carry out simple activities”, says Maurizio Ferraro, president of the coop. The cooperative empowers young adults with severe autism to enter the employment world. The Mayors from Peru found this initiative of great human and social value and will certainly try to carry out a similar activity in their agricultural territory. The second part of the day was dedicated to the visit of the urban garden Parco Ort9 Sergio Albani, in the southern area of Rome. This urban garden is one of the most successful examples of social agriculture in Rome in terms of its commitment to the application of the Regulations of Urban Gardens of Rome and to social integration through agricultural activities. Here the Peruvian delegation could see how the plots of agricultural land are worked by school students, neighbours of the nearby residential areas and young citizens with interrelation difficulties working the land as part of a social integration project.
The second day was dedicated to the organic urban farm of Borgo di Tragliata in the nearby town of Fiumicino. The farm has been declared by the Lazio Region Administration as part of the Etruscan-Roman Bio district. The district was created by the initiative of a promoting committee made up of farmers, citizens, tour operators, associations and public administrations to enhance the immense agricultural and food heritage present in the municipal territories of Cerveteri and Fiumicino as well as throughout the State Natural Reserve of the Roman Coast. Since 1999, the urban farm of Borgo di Tragliata has geared its policies towards eco-compatible farming systems, adopting organic farming and breeding techniques. The products collected are mainly used in the Borgo's catering facilities but also to feed barnyard animals. In addition, part of the production is sold or exchanged with other farmers' products. The Peruvian delegation was very impressed by the ability shown by local agricultural entrepreneurs to transform their territory into a provider of economic income and job opportunities while maintaining the characteristic natural heritage of the area.
The three-day visit of the Peruvian delegation concluded on November 8th with a meeting at the headquarters of ANCI (Italian National Association of Municipalities, www.anci.it) with the president of ANCI Lazio (Association of Municipalities of the Lazio Region), Mr Riccardo Varone, and the Italian URBACT National Contact Point, Mr Simone D’Antonio.
During this meeting, the President of Anci Lazio and the President of the Mancomunidad Municipal por la integración de Sierra y Selva, Mr Julio Cesar Mungi, signed a Convention of international cooperation in order to promote a mutual collaboration between the two associations of cities and towns specifically focused on sustainable development, innovative agriculture, urban regeneration and resilience, tourism of quality and social inclusion. Mr Varone reiterated the will of ANCI Lazio to collaborate with the Mancomunidad through EU projects that fall within the next programming period 2021-2027 and that include the participation of non-EU countries. Mr D’Antonio illustrated the fields of intervention of the URBACT Programme which could foresee the future participation of South American countries. Mr Julio César Mungi Núñez welcomed this opportunity and committed to keep monitoring the forthcoming calls, thanking both URBACT and ANCI Lazio for their dedication in contributing to the sustainable development of their territory. The meeting concluded with the signing ceremony for the renewal of the cooperation agreement between ANCI Lazio and the Mancomunidad Municipal por la integración de Sierra y Selva.
