A look back at the Loire Valley World Heritage regional meetings (2/2)

Field visits

Between cultural outreach and spatial planning, the field visits were an opportunity to share the latest news about the initiatives to showcase Loire Valley heritage and landscapes in the context of the UNESCO Site Management Plan.  

Participants took part in a walk over Les Noëls viaduct in Vineuil and discussed questions to do with eco-friendly travel and crossing the levee. In Mareau-aux-Prés, pride of place was given to Saint-Mesmin national nature reserve. In Saumur, the field visit focused on the revitalisation of the town’s heritage-steeped centre. Last but not least, at Chenonceaux, a little-known aspect of the village’s history helped to shed light on the new developments taking place in its streets. 

Workshops to encourage discussions

After the field visits, participants were split into different workshops to find out and talk about a range of initiatives: 

• Portraits de Loire à la Renaissance , a series of 6 videos giving an idea of what the River Loire and its banks might once have looked like back in Renaissance times;
• The participatory photo observatory for landscapes: a participatory project aimed at measuring the landscape changes over time and raising awareness of the implications of these changes;
• Data Val de Loire: a tool for analysing the changes across the region through a series of socioeconomic indicators;
• Gens du Val de Loire : a series of videos in which locals speak out about subjects to do with their living environment;
• the Pays de la Loire Region’s recent  heritage photo library,  which contains 60,000 images produced by the Inventory’s regional teams since the 1960s.

Programme to celebrate 20 years in 2020

To end the day, participants were treated to a preview of the programme drawn up to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Loire Valley’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  

At each meeting, the discussions continued afterwards around a buffet.