Eixo Atlántico do Noroeste Peninsular is a transborder association integrated by the main cities of the Euroregion Galicia - North of Portugal, forming its urban system. Created in 1992, with the support of the European Commission, its foundation was sponsored under the person of the President of the Republic of Portugal, Mr. Mário Soares, who presided over the constituent assembly . It is until now the only structured Euroregional urban system of transborder nature, in the European Union. Its primary objective is the cohesion and the structuring of the urban system, as well as the contribution to the modernization of the cities by developing network programs, cooperation, information exchange and joint strategic planning.
It also constitutes a group of pressure for the attainment of its objectives, not only to engage dialog with governments to promote the investments in the territory, specially in infrastructures, but also in the search of financing for the materialization of the strategies established by the political organs. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, the Euroregion North of Portugal - Galicia has a surface of 50.853 .km2 and a population of approximately 7 million inhabitants.
1992-2007 : 15 years constructing the Europe of the cities.
Throughout these years Eixo Atlántico has been consolidated as a reference of cooperation in Europe. For 15 years it has contributed to the structuring and modernization of the Urban System of the Euroregion Galicia - North of Portugal through a set of great added value and highly innovating performances, promoted individually or jointly with other institutions.
In sports ambit
* Eixo Atlántico Games * Eixo Atlántico Regatta
* Tournament of Handball * Eixo Atlántico Classic Cars Trophy
In culture ambit
* Galician-Portuguese Narrative Prize * Biannual Exhibition of Painting
* Cultural Agenda * Schools Exchanges Programs
* Eixo Atlántico Cinema Forum * Eixo Atlántico Independent Theatre Festival
* Eixo Atlántico Art and Culture Collection (inventory of the cultural patrimony in 12 volumes)
In the Sustainable Economic Development and Planning ambit
* Eixo Atlántico First Strategic Study (1994) * Eixo Atlántico First congress (1995)
* Second Strategic Study (2004) * Eixo Atlántico Second Congress (2005)
* Strategy Agenda (2007) * Eixo Atlántico Tourism Guides Collection
* Implementation of the Agenda 21 * Realization of the Urban Audit
* Intermodality Strategy: : Infrastructures Map (2000 updated in 2007), Airport System, Ports System,
Railway System and Support to the implantation of the High Speed train
* Project MILLENIO of internationalization of enterprises
In the Communication ambit
Ø Co-production of the documental series “one Euroregion for the 21st century” of 12 hours long, broadcasted in the public televisions of Portugal and Galicia.
Ø Eixo Atlántico web gateway: with 510.000 references (eixo atlántico), 12.800 (eixo atlántico do noroeste peninsular). In GOOGLE (June 2007) and 20.400 results (eixoatlantico) in Sapo.PT search.
Ø Eixo Atlántico Library
In Knowledge Society ambit
Ø Euroregional Centre of Studies
Ø Eixo Atlántico Urban Observatory
The next times : 2008-2012
Simultaneously with a new period of European Programmes, EIXO ATLÁNTICO has been extended from 18 to 28 members. This fact induces to a new cycle which will be characterized by the adjustment of the urban system to the modernization and competitiveness parameters established by the European Union. These are the main strategic measures previewed:
1. PLANNING
Ø INTERMODALITY
Eixo Atlántico has been playing a decisive role in implementing the High Speed Train between Galicia and Portugal. But the high speed train is only a part of the strategy of Intermodality necessary to adequate the infrastructures of transportation to the challenges and needs of our cities in order to favour the competitiveness and cohesion.
In synthesis Eixo Atlántico promotes the creation of an Airport System integrating the four airports as well as the commercial aerodromes existent in the territory. It also promotes the creation of a Port System integrating the 7 big ports and coordinated with the Airport System. At last, it promotes the interior Railways System based on a set of shuttles that communicate the big points of reference of the urban system (urban centre, technological universities, parks, enterprise parks, ports and airports) in an average time of one hour, in a continuously and rapidly way, favouring at the same time the diminution of vehicles on roads and motorways.
Ø SERVICE OF STUDIES
In order to create a very important "Knowledge Bank" to promote the application of the society of knowledge to the political decision making, and to make profitable the valuable know-how existent in our Urban System, Eixo Atlántico has created under direct subordination of the Secretary General, a Service of Studies. This Service of Studies counts with the contributions of a numerous group of external experts, of great academic and professional importance, who put their knowledge and experience to the service of the local and regional development.
From the priorities established by the Executive Commission, it develops the theoretician and conceptual base of the planning that serves as base to debate for the political decision making by the General Assembly, in referring to the establishment of the urban system development strategies, which after set the Eixo Atlántico agenda. Therefore it is predicted to, jointly with the University of Vigo and located in the Vigo Campus the creation of the first Centre of transborder documentation, which includes a specialized library and a documentary service that catalogues and preserves the documentary sources of the construction process of the Euroregion Galicia - North of Portugal
Ø PUBLICATIONS SERVICE
In coordination with the Service of Studies there is a Publications Service who manages the important publication collection that on the basis of the studies made by the Service of Studies, are published by Eixo Atlántico:
* Collection of texts for debate * Collection of strategic studies
* Magazine of reflection of Eixo Atlántico * Resources Guides Collection:
1. GOVERNANCE
For the modernization of the administration and the Governance, Eixo Atlántico promotes two strategic performances.
The implementation in the cities of the urban system of the LOCAL AGENDA i2010, strategy promoted by the European Commission and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CCRE), contained at the Cracovia Declaration and that intends to promote the access from our cities to the information society as well as the suitable and shared use of TIC, reducing the digital breach and promoting – as collateral but high-priority effect - the process of modernization of the administration and adjustment of its structures to the demands and challenges of the 21st century.
The creation of an Eixo Atlántico Urban Transborder Information System (SIUTEA), which constitutes an observatory and an alert system over the internal cohesion of the urban system.
2. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The bet on sustainable development constitutes one of the priorities of Eixo Atlántico that in 2004 has taken a difficult and innovating challenge: the implementation in network of Agenda 21 in the associated municipalities, following a new methodology but with great future dimension as key of urban sustainable development that until now had been only applied in Barcelona.
After four years the model in which the Eixo Atlántico bet on, has been proposed by the Spanish Environment Ministry for its Urban Strategy of Sustainable Development and by the Galicia Government for the Galician Plan of Waste.
In 2008 Eixo Atlántico, once implemented the agendas 21, will start up the PISU (Plan of Indicators for Urban Sustainability) which tries to define a endogenous model of sustainable development of the Northwest Peninsula and will undertake the creation of the Eixo Atlántico Urban Ecology Agency, as a structured and stabilizing element of performances in the matter of Urban Sustainable Development.
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
The area of social development, due to its organizational complexity and its competencies diversity, constitutes one of the most complicated structures. For that reason Eixo Atlántico has subdivided it in three areas:
CULTURE: Culture constitutes the historical base on which the social configuration was based on what nowadays we call Euroregion. For that reason it constitutes one of the high-priority areas of performance, in approaching the Euroregional structures to citizenship.
YOUTH: Considered a matter of high strategic future value. Therefore Eixo Atlántico has signed an agreement with Galician Youth Council to guarantee the incorporation of youngs in the process of construction of the Euroregion. In this context Eixo Atlántico jointly with Xunta de Galicia (Galician Government), the Portuguese Institute of Youth and the Galician Youth Council have predicted to constitute in the beginning of 2008 the FORUM OF YOUTH OF EIXO ATLÁNTICO conceived as a cross-sectional consultative organ, in the process of definition of Euroregional policies of local and regional development.
EDUCATION: On this area the performance of Eixo Atlántico for the next years is based on two programs:
The beginning of the Musical Show of New Interpreters, that biannually tries to value the work of the students of the conservatories and the municipal music schools of our cities, in the musical context of Jazz and Classic Music .
The definition of an EDUCATIVE PROJECT of Eixo Atlántico that identifies organizational themes models and best practices in the social-educational context, endogenous and specific of our territory reality.
SPORTS : If we have to define the most participative and emblematic program for our municipalities, without any doubt there would be the Eixo Atlántico Games. Biannual and with itinerant host they constitute an event that mobilizes around 1.500 youngs, gathering for a week with sports as a pretext. Already on their 7th edition, the Games represent by their longevity and high participation a particular reference in transborder sport practice in Europe. In the next years, seeing the results obtained in this field it is predicted to extend the number of sport events with own seat. Proposals of Soccer, Basketball, Artistic Gymnastics and Chess are already being worked on.
TOURISM : The tourism is based on the principle of competing cities by nature, cooperating on politics will. Therefore the tourism strategies must be complemented, but also stand out from the national and regional strategies. This supposes valuing new market opportunities by applying the principle Think Global Act Local. Opposed to spaces already covered such as the seasonal or weekend tourism, we work on bringing up other sources with an important offer of our urban system: religious, thermal, commercial, nature and adventure tourism. The combination of the existing offers and its suitable promotion, allowing the creation of offers for periods between seven and fifteen days, until now inexistent outside the seasonal processes.
Ø Joint promotion consisting on shared edition and jointly liable distribution in the tourism offices from the 28 cities, as well as the co-edition of commercial tourism guides in cooperation with the specialized editorials.
Ø The promotion of the Portuguese Path of Santiago as a reference not only as identity but also as a brand, in terms of territorial marketing.
Ø The definition of an endogenous model of tourism strategies promotion, by valuing the tourism potentials of our cities as a complementary way.