On 14 and 15 October 2025, the launch meeting of the RESPIRA project took place in Salies-de-Béarn (France). This initiative, co-financed by the Interreg-Sudoe programme, brings together organisations from Spain, France, and Portugal with the aim of promoting heritage enhancement and territorial cooperation around the cultural and natural resources of southwestern Europe. The meeting, held at the Casino de Salies-de-Béarn and the Hôtel du Parc, was inaugurated by representatives of the Pays de Béarn, the coordinating entity of the project, and included the official. welcome of the town’s mayor. During the first day, thematic working groups (GTT) were organised, focusing on the main axes of the project. Discussions addressed the coordination and management of the consortium and the project, led by the Pays de Béarn; communication, coordinated by the Institut Català de Recerca en Patrimoni Cultural (ICRPC); and evaluation, under the responsibility of the Diputación de Teruel. The heritage enhancement strategy was also presented, coordinated by CIRDOC in collaboration with the Public University of Navarre (UPNA) and the ICRPC.
The session also featured a presentation by Patricia Heiniger-Castéret, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pau and the Adour Countries (ITEM Laboratory – UR 3002), who introduced the “parts-prenants” (stakeholders) network and its heritage-based approach. The second day focused on planning upcoming actions and coordinating among partners for the implementation of the activities foreseen within the framework of the project. The meeting helped to consolidate the consortium’s working foundations and strengthen transnational collaboration around the objectives of the RESPIRA project, which is committed to the sustainable enhancement of territorial heritage within the Sudoe area.
