As we're reaching the end our ‘Breaking Isoaltion’ network’s journey, it's also the occasion to look back on the past 2 years and in particular look at the 12 (in-person) Trans-National Meetings that Breaking Isolation | URBACT Network has organized.
Wait! 12? That’s a lot!
Yes, it is. Nicolas Castet, the coordinator of the network from the Lead Partner city of Agen (France), has always put transnational meetings at the heart of the two URBACT networks he has coordinated (Active Citizens + Breaking Isolation). But, why so many? Why in-person? Can’t meetings be done mostly online?
Yes, some meetings can be done online, on Zoom or Teams or else. But despite all the efforts to make them lively, dynamic, exciting, interesting and fun, nothing can really replace the human experience of physically travelling to another country and discovering a new city. Especially, small & medium-sized cities that are not particularly touristic places, at least cities you won’t naturally go to for a weekend trip. So, in Breaking Isolation (or Active Citizens), we go to every single partner city. All of them deserve to be seen.
So what’s so special about Trans-National Meetings (TNM)? Like every travel, it is an adventure. You need to prepare, to look at the map to check where you’re going, get your train or or bus or plane tickets, check the weather, pack your luggage, get your alarm ready to wake up and be on time for your departure. You also need to warn your family as well as your colleagues, you probably also have to tell them where you’re going and why. And without noticing, you’re telling them about the project and obviously the topic.
If it’s the first Trans-National Meeting there is also some excitement due to going into the unknown. If it’s the second or fifth, there is the excitement of meeting everyone again, while still discovering a new town and some extra new faces. You never get bored of going to a Trans-National Meeting (TNM). Because every TNM is a mini-adventure, and a discovery. Culturally, architecturally, culinary, socially.
You are hosted. This means that the local hosting team has prepared (together with the Lead Partner and Lead Expert) your arrival and the 2-3 days you’re about to spend in their city. Yes, it will be mostly work. But they have also prepared a tasting experience of their town, of their local culture, that they will happily share with you. This is universal. It does matter if you’re in a small town in Tønder in Denmark, or Roman in Romania, or in Isernia, Italy. All of them have something to share, to offer, to show, to give. Obviously that includes showing the existing local good practices and policies about the topic of the network. In our case, on Breaking Isolation, that’s the solidarity taxi of Skofja Loka in Slovenia, the elderly socialization centre of Jumilla in Spain, the group sport activities of Pombal in Portugal, nature walks in Tønder in Denmark, the building caretakers of Agen in France, the lively library of Fót in Hungary, etc.
Trans-National Meetings matter not only because it’s a personal discovery but also because it’s a shared one. In Breaking Isolation (but also Active Citizens), at each TNM, up to 4 participants per partner city could join (with a mix of elected officials, civil servants and URBACT local group members) for 2 fulls days of exchange and learning. This means you can’t really get lost in translation, because you’re not alone. You can exchange, debate, agree and disagree, in your own language, with your traveling companions. If you have misunderstood something, there is someone you can exchange with. And, most importantly, you talk about it with your colleagues then with your friends and families when you go back to your hometown. You tell them about what you saw, you show them pictures, movies of what you ate, what surprised you. The dancing and singing you did in Serres in Greece. The horse riding show you saw in Fót in Hungary. The traditional costumes and choir singing you watched in Roman in Romania or in Bijelo Polje in Montenegro. It’s the fado band you listened to in Pombal, Portugal. The cheese making with grandmas in Jumilla, Spain. The discovery walk you had in the streets of Skofja Loka, Slovenia. The bird and seal watching you did in Tønder, Denmark. Or the pasta you tasted in Isernia, Italy or the ‘pruneau’, wine and cheese in Agen, France.
Aware of the added value of Trans-National Meetings, Nicolas Castet (the Lead partner) and I (lead expert) have always designed TNM more or less in the same way: from 9:00 to 17:00 it’s work time. It can include workshop, sharing, listening, discussing and good practice case visits. Then, after 17:00 a bit of cultural activities. And finally, a dinner with local food (and some extra activities during and/or after dinner). Days are full. Even a bit intense sometimes. But we make sure we make the most out of those moments together. Because, beyond the experience, we (as lead partner and lead expert) know that if we invest in convivial moments, we’re tightening people and making the network stronger. You need people to laugh together, to debate, to disagree, to hug, if you want them to engage, sincerely, strongly, genuinely. It’s not a 3 month long project. But 2 years and a half. So you need the network members to enjoy being part of the network.
Ultimately, the added-value of in-person Trans-National Meetings is the European feeling. Euroscepticism is rising, fed by anti-european discourse of far right political parties. Europe is blamed for everything. Yet, Europe is an incredible and unique project. An amazing space of cooperation, of mutual learning and support, of community. But to be able to feel that way, you need to experience Europe. You need to have the chance of feeling, for yourself, what it has to offer, and to realize how valuable it is. URBACT does just that.
Video link : https://youtu.be/lg33CGnH-Po
