Interreg Italy-Austria in Colombia

In mid-April, the Joint Secretariat of Interreg Italy-Austria participated in the “Regional Networking Event” of the IURC (International Urban and Regional Cooperation) in Latin America. At the event, which took place from April 14 to 17 in Cali, Colombia, the programme shared its experience in community-led local development (CLLD) in an international exchange.

The four-day overall programme offered insights into various aspects of regional development. The CLLD approach was presented as a practical example within the thematic network “Cluster Agrifood & CLLD”.

Following the official kick-off on Tuesday, April 14, Wednesday focused mainly on the joint elaboration of Regional Cooperation Action Plans (RCAPs) and interactive workshops for new solutions. Thursday was dedicated to practice: during on-site visits in the Valle del Cauca, the participating administrations focused on topics such as bioeconomy and sustainable agriculture (at the CIAT research centre) as well as the circular economy. On Friday, the event successfully concluded with a final plenary session, a reflection on the results, and the planning of future pilot actions.

“The exchange in Cali impressively demonstrated that our Interreg approach to community-led regional development generates great interest on an international level as well,” reports Irene Covi of the Joint Secretariat. “At the same time, during the on-site visits in Colombia, we were able to gain valuable impulses, for instance in the field of circular economy, for our own work and the stakeholders in the border area.”

Following this, further study visits are already planned as part of the “Advanced Cooperation Missions”. In addition, the guidelines and application documents for the new IURC “Competitive Fund” were presented in Colombia. This fund is intended to finance future cooperation projects.

For further insights into the network’s work, please refer to the social media channels of IURC Latin America (LinkedIn and Instagram)

Detailed insights into the event are provided by the English-language IURC “Field Notes” for April 15, April 16, and April 17.