The Network or Routes of Emperor Charles V participated during the afternoon of November 12th in an informal meeting of Responsible Authorities and entities affiliated to the Inca Trail system-QHÁPAQ ÑAN (World Heritage) and the Council of Europe's Institute of Cultural Routes, with the participation of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture of Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile, as well as representatives of the Routes of Historical Rock Art, the Road to Santiago de Compostela, and the Routes of the Andalusian Legacy.
The aim of the meeting was to identify possible future collaboration initiatives between the European and Latin American regions on cultural routes, to help tackle the impact of the global crisis of COVIV-19, socio-economic development, normalisation in the post-pandemic era, the development of sustainable tourism, as well as the possibility of developing a global network of cultural routes.
Not surprisingly, this meeting is the result of the strong links between the European and Ibero-American regions thanks to the figure of Emperor Charles V, with more than 300 cities founded by the Emperor in Ibero-America, 158 of which are in the countries participating in the meeting (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru).
The meeting also pointed out the need to focus on the local and rural development, key territories on the routes, and to develop training and education programmes, especially in this period of pandemic, where efforts should be focused, and the importance of training, the promotion of collaborations and the exchange of experiences, as well as the importance of thinking about future strategies and also a greater development of the digital environment on the routes, given the impossibility of developing our own cultural activities or historical recreations.
Consequently, this is a challenge that is faced within the framework of the Agenda 2030 to achieve the long-term sustainable development of the routes and to promote collaboration between the cultural routes not only on a European level, but also internationally in order to face common challenges together.
Finally, a series of meetings have been defined which will take place in the coming months, which means accentuating cooperation between both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
