Perugia 17/21 September 2005
NATURALITER 4th coordination meeting
and International Closure Conference


The last meeting has been hold in Perugia as foreseen in the project work plan according to dates agreed by all of the partners. Unfortunately the WCLCS representatives could not participate as they were engaged in Cork 2005 European Capital of Culture events but Vincent Ahern as a member of West Cork Leader Co-operative Society Ltd. represented both the Irish institutions.

Participants:

P1 – Italian Confederation of Farmers, Walter Trivellizzi (President),Antonio Sposicchi (General Co-ordinator);

P2 – Kovarik & Partner OEG, Wilma Kovarik (Project manager); Peter Zinner (Assistant)

P3 – ASAJA Granada, Josè Hita Castro (President), Javier Morales Luque (Project manager);

P4 – Université Populaire Rurale, Pier Angelo Coggiola (Project Manager), Joël Henri (Director); 

P5 – IDEC, Ioannis Lountas (Project manager, in substitution of Georgia Papadimitriou);

P6 – FAMA, Mihály Vörös (Project manager);

P7 – WCEIRD, Vincent Ahern (Director, project manager);

P8 – WCLCS Ltd., also represented by Vincent Ahern as member of the institution board;

P9 – CIPA-AT Umbria, Alfio Casagrande (President, administrative responsible), Massimo Canalicchio (Project Manager, transnational partnership co-ordinator);

P10- Agrinform SpA, Flores Lelli (President), Marco Ligabue (Web master);

P11- Pro-ORAVA, Pavol Jackulik (Director, project manager).

The meeting room was located in Cia Umbria regional premises in Perugia and all of the participants were accommodated in Sangallo Palace Hotel.

 

The visit respected the programme as previously scheduled:

 

17 September 2005

 Arrival of the participants: welcome cocktail and social dinner at the Sangallo Palace Hotel

 

18 September 2005

Visit to the farm school “La cerqua” in Pietralunga and business lunch

Visit to Assisi, S.Francesco, (Giotto frescos) Upper Church

Social dinner in Perugia (Restaurant “La Taverna”)

 

19 September

9,00 – 11,00

Two monitoring sessions of the training tools with farmers and students at Faculty of Agriculture in Perugia

 

11, 30

Cia of Umbria Conference hall – Press conference (Cia conference room “Emilio Sereni”)

 

13,30

Quick lunch

 

15,00 (Cia premises)

Evaluation of the monitoring tests

Technical and administrative advices on final report

 

17,00

Session on evaluation final report

 

20,00

Social dinner (Restaurant “Caffè di Perugia”)

 

20 September 2005

Chamber of Commerce Congress Centre - Perugia

9,00 – 13,30       

(see attached invitation sent by mail in 500 copies, poster put up in Perugia in 300 copies and programme)

20,00

Social dinner – (Restaurant “Da Cesarino”)

 

21 September 2005

Departure of the participants

 

Minutes of the meeting

18 September

 

Transfer at 10 in the morning from Perugia to “La Cerqua” and “La balucca”, in Pietralunga, organic school farm owned and managed by Gino Martinelli and his wife, first case study presented as a model by CIPA-AT of Umbria in Pireous, in the framework of the second NATURALITER meeting, July 2004. The two farms, 120 hectares totally, produce organic crops, meat, fruit and marmalades, rural fashion furnished houses well restored are able to receive up to 60 persons. Horses, sheeps and chicken are grown in the farm according to welfare and natural best practices. The restaurant, based on regional and national recipes, has the atmosphere of a typical family farm kitchen. Gino Martinelli has explained to the partners of the project, collected in the didactic classroom, directly in English, his philosophy of life and his activity with schools in the field of environmental and agricultural education.  At lunch typical dishes were prepared and served.

After the lunch the participants have driven to Assisi for visiting the famous and recently restored Giotto frescos in S.Francesco upper church, the lower church and the saint’s crypt below. Also S.Maria degli Angeli cathedral, with inside “Porziuncola”, the first little church of S.Francesco and his friars, on the road back to Perugia was visited.

The social dinner was organized in a reserved room of “La Taverna” restaurant in the middle of the medieval city.

So the first day, Sunday, was dedicated to get in touch with an important case study well known by all of the partners but also to approach the middle age culture so important in Perugia and surroundings and to create a social atmosphere in the group.

 

19 September

 

Transfer at 9 in the morning from the Hotel to the University of Perugia Faculty of Agriculture. 9,00 – 9,45: monitoring test on the “interactive corporate platform” with the participation of 15 students of different age and level (from the second regular year course till master post-graduate course). The tests were presented in 10 minutes and completed within the estimated time (30 minutes). The last 10 minutes were dedicated to fill in the “feedback form”. The training tool was in general considered very well done and user friendly. Two users (both frequenting a post-graduate course) suggested to make possible to select contents of the training packages chosen instead of being obliged to read the whole texts. At 10,00 started the second monitoring test with the participation of 15 young farmers. Their reaction to the training tool was very good, even if some of them considered not so easy to perform the whole test in 30 minutes.

At 11,30 took place at Cia Umbria premises, in the conference hall, a very crowded press conference, with help of a professional interpreter in order to make easier the comprehension between the journalists and the foreign partners. After the presentation of all of the partners, the main questions were focused on the importance of  the results of NATURALITER project and of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme in the various Countries. The conference was introduced and closed by Walter Trivellizzi, President of Cia Umbria, as promoter of the project.

After the lunch, at Cia Umbria premises all the members of the partnership discussed about the monitoring tests realized in the morning. The results were evaluated very satisfactory by all of the partners. It was decided to make possible, as requested by two of the users, the selection of specific sections in each of the four sectors training tools aiming at making more interactive and interesting the training gym. The contents of the “computerised corporate platform” and training gym linked to the training packages were also evaluated good and approved by all of the partners, so it was decided to translate by each partner into mother tongue the texts from the English version.

It was also decided that Cia Umbria is engaged to prepare the texts of a “guide to the training tools” to be translated in mother tongue by all of the partners”, published on the portal by Agrinform and realized in CD ROM and hard copy by each partner.

The discussion on administrative themes were focused on eligibility of expenses according to typology and dates. It was highlighted that the eligible expenses must be invoiced or committed by written contract between the member of the partnership and a supplier by 30 September. The copy of sub-contracts, receipts and invoices must be sent to Cia Umbria by 15 November 2005 (or 15 December in case of one month respite) as well as three samples of each training or dissemination products realized.

The discussion on evaluation report, focused on feed back of the experts (Vincent Ahern and Ioannis Lountas), also including the results of monitoring tests conducted in Granada and in Perugia, was leaded by Claudio Bezzi, external evaluator. The analysis of the feed back forms highlighted the increased positive opinion of the partners after some initial problems and doubts. The final evaluation report was approved by all of the partners.

 

20 September

 

The final conference entitled “NATURALITER, new opportunities for farms: multifunctionality, new technologies, tailored vocational training”, took place in Perugia at Chamber of Commerce Congress Centre as scheduled in the programme. About 150 persons attended to the conference (about 80 farmers, 30 students, 20 teachers and experts, 2 policy makers, 20 clerks and technicians). After the welcome to the participants by the President of the Chamber of Commerce Alviero Moratti and the report presented by the coordinator of the project Antonio Sposicchi on the NATURALITER training tools system, each member of the partnership presented own tasks and main results in the project, focusing on difference and similarity of the case studies and application of the NATURALITER training tools system to any kind of farm business development plan. Particular focus on farmers difficulties in Europe and new challenges in global markets was made in his speech  by Josè Hita Castro, President of ASAJA Granada. Massimo Canalicchio, as coordinator of the international partnership of the project highlighted the importance of stressing the results of projects such as NATURALITER aiming at spreading the new multifunctional experiences in farms thanks to tailored interactive training tools available using more and more internet connected resources, as for example, ComNet Umbria. Francesco Pennacchi, Dean of University of Perugia Faculty of Agriculture stressed the problems related to global market, CAP reform and new role of agriculture in the framework of the efforts to spread the agricultural knowledge and rural enterprises management to the students at University, as technical support of the farmers in these years, also in collaboration with farmers association and thanks to the new technologies. Maura Ferrara, tutor of the project, presented, in the name of Leonardo da Vinci Italian Agency, the foreseen next goals and frameworks of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme, closing the second phase in 2006. Unfortunately the Counsellor  for Agriculture in Umbria Maria Prodi could not participate because of a mild indisposition. Walter Trivellizzi, in his conclusions, highlighted the new role of agriculture in social European vision and the preoccupation of farmers for the future between global markets and CAP reform. This contradiction between a recognised importance for the environment protection and safe food production and a European agricultural policy aiming at a financial support progressive reduction must be changed in the framework of a pact with the society. The farmers must be not only opponents of political decisions at European level, but also promoters of a sustainable development in the rural areas as an heritage available for the whole society. In this change agriculture, environment, sustainable rural tourism, biodiversity and traditional food will be a new development system thanks to the role of the farmers, also thanks to new knowledge and competences training tools and ICT. Experiences and results like those realized thanks to programmes such as Leonardo da Vinci are the measure of the undertaking of farmers and their professional associations for the future.

 

Conclusions

 

The promoter of the project Cia of Umbria and CIPA-AT, as vocational training branch of the farmers association, thank very much all of the partners for their cooperation in two years of activities and work together. All of us are sure that the interactive training platform and tools created will be disseminated in the next period in practical training courses and used by hundreds of users in our Countries. Also valorisation activities of the NATURALITER results will be foreseen in participating to meetings at European or national level or submitting proposals in the framework of specific calls.

All of us are engaged for the final efforts to realize the final training products and guide and administrative fulfilments as agreed for the final report.