The activity, taking place in Porte-Puymorens (France), brings together young people, mentors and outdoor sports professionals around experiential learning and social innovation
Porte-Puymorens, France, July 2026. The European Interreg Sudoe project ALIS – Local Adventure for Social Innovation –, co-funded by the Interreg Sudoe programme, is holding a new pilot activity in Porte-Puymorens, France, from 7 to 9 July 2026. This immersive experience is designed to foster youth participation, social innovation and connection with rural and mountain environments.
The initiative brings together 18 young people and 7 adults, including two representatives from the Centre de Ressources, d’Expérience et de Performance Sportive Montpellier/Font-Romeu (CREF), in a unique natural setting in the Pyrenees. The pilot has the support of the Mission Locale de Saillagouse and brings together participants and professionals committed to outdoor learning, youth development and territorial cooperation.
Throughout the programme, participants are taking part in various adventure and nature-based activities, including mountain biking, hiking, canyoning and interpretive trekking. These experiences allow them to explore the natural and cultural heritage of the area, while strengthening personal, social and leadership skills through experiential learning.
This pilot activity is part of ALIS’s strategy to develop and test innovative social intervention methodologies aimed at young people, particularly in rural and mountain areas facing demographic, economic and territorial challenges. Through immersive nature experiences, the project seeks to strengthen young people’s connection with their environment, encourage their participation and support their role in the sustainable development of rural communities.
ALIS brings together organisations from Spain, France and Portugal with the aim of exchanging good practices and developing innovative tools that contribute to revitalising rural areas in the Sudoe region. Pilot activities are one of the project’s main actions, as they make it possible to test participatory methodologies in real-life contexts and generate knowledge that can be transferred to other European regions.
Holding this pilot in Porte-Puymorens reinforces ALIS’s commitment to harnessing natural and cultural resources as drivers of social innovation, territorial cohesion and new opportunities for young generations.
About the ALIS project
ALIS (Local Adventure for Social Innovation) is a European project funded by the Interreg Sudoe programme, running for 36 months (June 2025 – May 2028) with a total budget of €1,125,000. ALIS aims to boost the employability of young people in rural and peri-urban areas at risk of exclusion, through experiential social innovation programmes based on nature sports, recognised as tools for social integration, personal development and wellbeing. The transnational consortium is led by the Centre de Ressources, d’Expérience et de Performance Sportive Montpellier/Font-Romeu (France), and also includes the Association for Second Chance Education (Portugal), the Centre de Ressources Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (France), the Instituto Andaluz de la Juventud (Spain), Fundación Finnova (Spain), Asociación Sport To Live (Spain), Terapia Aventura (Spain), the Universidad de las Islas Baleares (Spain), the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal) and the Government of Andorra – State Secretariat for Youth and Sports.