Triglav Circle
NOTE for the meeting/seminar organized by the circle TRIGLAV on the subject RURALITY TODAY: the LOCAL and the GLOBAL, POUSSIGNOL, BLISMES, NIÈVRE, 58120 (from Friday evening July 7 to Sunday, July 9, afternoon)
Triglav Circle?
Founding; The Circle was established to pursue the discourse begun in the United Nations Seminar on Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of Social Progress held in Bled, Slovenia, October 1994. The seminar was a step in preparation for the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, March 1995. In January 1996, nine of the Seminar participants drew up a constitution for the Triglav Circle.
Since March 1998, the Triglav Circle, Inc., has been incorporated as a non-profit organization. (https://triglavcircleonline.org, (which is undergoing renovation)
As of May 2001, the Circle has functioned as a non-governmental organization with Special Consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations [ECOSOC] and thus is accredited in an advisory capacity with policy-making bodies under ECOSOC. Specifically, the Circle participates in these bodies, by making speeches, submitting documents, participation in panels [including some convened by the General Assembly,] and, by organizing “workshops”. [3]Notes and linked reports to these meetings are placed on the site of the Triglav Circle.
Location:The Triglav Circle has a branch in the United States and a branch in France. It (Triglav Circle Europe) is placed under the regime of the law of 1901 on associations. The link with the Nièvre is circumstantial: two of the people originally from this group of reflection, Barbara and Jacques Baudot, live part of the year to Ougny, near Châtillon in Bazois, and another Member, Peter Baas, is domiciled in Cuy, in the very nearby town of Chougny.
Significance of the Name and Logo.[1]Triglav is the name of the mountain that serves as a national symbol for Slovenia. It was near it that the UN seminar of 1994 took place. Mount Triglav is the namesake of the three-headed deity who symbolized Love, Spirit, and Wisdom and was always accompanied by his noble stallion, “equus divinus.” The design of the logo, incorporating the mountain and the horse, also evokes the symbol of the UN Word Summit for Social Development. [2]
The word “Circle” refers to the fact that it is a group of reflection and debate. It does not have operational activities such as giving technical or financial assistance to disadvantaged social groups or countries. Thiscircle, which includes some 60 people, “members” or “friends”, is international, in its composition and in the topics it addresses.
Goals:The Circle is inspired by the ideals enshrined in the UN Charter, namely “promoting social progress and establishing better conditions of life in larger freedom. Over the years “social progress’ has become ‘development,’ and, more recently, ‘sustainable development’.
The Circle explores realization of the core messages of the Social Summit articulated in the Copenhagen Declaration:
“Our societies must respond more effectively to the material and spiritual needs of individuals, their families, and the communities in which they live…” and
“We are committed to a political, economic, ethical, and spiritual vision for social development that is based on human dignity, human rights, equality, respect, democracy, mutual responsibility and cooperation, and full respect for various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of people.”
The discussions of the Circle relate to issues of universal interest – or today, global issues—whose treatment at international, national and local levels has consequences for all of us and for future generations. For example, in 2014, the meeting was devoted to the realization of the concept of ‘harmony with nature’ in the context of sustainable development. The meeting was held near Neuchatel, Switzerland in a biodynamic farm associated with a hotel.In 2016, near Bourg en Bresse, in France, the discussion concerned the enrichment of the UN objectives for sustainable development at the horizon 2030 with the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ , published by Pope Francis in May 2015.
The style of the meetings organized by the Triglav Circle:Before coming to the subject which will be considered in July, in France, some details on the style of Triglav meetings are in order.
In general, gatherings take place over a weekend, from Friday evening, until the afternoon of Sunday. This will be the case of the meeting at the Chateau de Poussignol, July7-9 2017. Around fifteen participants, ‘full time,’ is the standard number of active participants to facilitate full participation in discussions. Meals served at the venue provide an opportunity for further exchanges.
In addition, other people, given their knowledge of local conditions, will be invited. These guests, depending on their availability, will spent some hours with the group.
The gatherings of the Circle areinformal. The sessions are “moderated” simply to ensure that the discussions are sufficiently orderly to be both enjoyable and rewarding.Notes and reports of the meetings are placed on the Triglav Circle site (https://triglavcircleonline.org, currently under renovation).
How will the subject ‘Rurality today: the local and the global’ be addressed?
Rural life is not a new concept, but without excluding historical references this meeting will focus on rural life as it exists today in France and, more particularly, in the Nièvre.
Rurality is a reality, a space, a territory with some features, the most ‘essential’ being the presence of an agricultural activity and the absence of urban agglomerations. [4]Rurality is also a project/undertaking, which, very briefly, endeavors to give or maintain life (in all aspects) to a territory. Rurality as a reality and project, separable only analytically, will be addressed jointly at the gathering.
Understanding rurality as anchored in a territory and the relationship of this project with its environment, is what is implied in the title of this seminar. Some clarification of the meanings of the words ‘local’, ‘global’ and ‘relationships ‘ in this context is in order:
The ‘local’ will be the Department of Nièvre, and in particular the area around Poussignol and the commune of Blismes. This commune is part of the Community de Communes Morvan des Sommets et des Grandes Lacs, which has its administrative center in Chateau Chinon. The Pays Nivernais Morvan, another entity within the department of Nievre will also be considered because it is with this institution that the French government signed a “Contrat de Ruralite” on 3 March 2017.
The ‘global’ includes international institutions, notably the European Union (EU) and, to the extent possible, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, including the WTO. The texts and policies emanating from these organizations, particularly the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), will be of great importance. In second place, the ‘global’ is the set of ideas, values, beliefs, attitudes, prejudices, that may be called, the spirit of the time, or, in a less neutral way, the dominant global ideology. This spirit/ideology permeates more or less consciously the thoughts and practices of all of us today. It generates all possible nuances of judgment and opinions, from enthusiastic concurrence to indignant rejection. And, it is expressed in concepts such as modernity and globalization.
The French government, standing between the local and the global, is in the context of rurality both the leading political and administrative actor and the intermediary between the local authorities and international institutions.
“Relationships” of a rural territory with its national and international environment are numerous and range from the most concrete to the most difficult to grasp. Many will be mentioned and only some will be discussed. Some of these issues will be included in the agenda, others will arise during the discussions. The visibility and relevance of the rurality project for local inhabitants will be taken up, as will different views on the concept of rurality, on the objectives of the project and the relative weight of its components. [notably the ‘Contrat’ mentioned above.]
Preliminary thoughts for the agenda and work programme
The seminar’s final agenda and programme of work will take into account the profile and interests of participants, including local invitees. However, some indications can be given now.
In preparations for the gathering, factual notes/briefs and other short working papers will be available. These briefs will include the following information: the administrative organization of Nièvre; the demographic, economic and social data base regarding this Department, and, as far as possible, the Community of Communes concerned; information on agencies and semi-public professional organizations and the various local associations involved in the rural life of the territory concerned; outline and specific objectives of the Contract de Ruralite [Contract of Rurality] mentioned above; and, objectives at the other end of the continuum between “local” and “global”, that is the CAP; and, if possible, the environmental norms operative in Nievre set by European, international and/or national authorities.
Like other Triglav meetings, this seminar will be informal and open. In addition to seminar style discussions, meals will provide opportunities for exchanges of ideas. There will be time for relaxing between sessions to enjoy the beautiful rurall surroundings.
Two considerations underlie this seminar: [1] the future of Nièvre, as the future of planet Earth, is not a given, is not determined by forces beyond human’s control; every decision, at all level, do matters; [2] the justification for power, political or otherwise, is, ultimately, service to the community. This brief foray into political and moral philosophy is only meant to point out that the ‘local’ an the ‘global’ will be seen both in their concrete and in their moral and spiritual dimensions.
During the brief duration of this seminar discussion will range from the local to the global, from the concrete to the abstract, from testimony to debate, all the while striving to avoid excessive dispersion and superficiality. For example, the characteristics of a project on rurality which is on a successful path are, in summary: (1) an agriculture ensuring a fair income to farmers, producing healthy and quality food, and preserving both the Earth and its wealth, and nature in its integrity and beauty. (2)the availability of various services: public services, including those for education and health; private services, such as local shops; and cultural, sports and other services provided by various sources, such as associations. And (3), opportunities for employment, in agriculture as well as in other sectors of activity, in or in the vicinity of the territory concerned. As choices will be required given the short duration of this seminar, more attention may be given to (1) than to (2) and (3).
Saturday, July 8 will be essentially devoted to conversations with local people who have agreed to share with the group their views and experiences. As mentioned above, in order to facilitate these exchanges, especially from participants outside the Nievre, factual notes will have been prepared and distributed well in advance of the meeting.
Sunday, July 9, i.e. the morning and the first part of the afternoon, will be devoted to a discussion on information shared the day before. More emphasis will be put on the difficulties and inconsistencies in the relations between the local and the global than on the convergences. The discussions on Sunday. July 9, willl also be open to local guests.
Finally, it is important to note that a similar seminar on rurality is anticipated to take place next winter in Oberlin, Ohio.
[1] In the last quarter of the 20th century the United Nations organized a series of global conferences. Among the best known are the conference of Stockholm on the human environment (1972) and its sequel has Rio de Janeiro in 1982, the ‘Earth Summit’, who ‘invented’ the term sustainable development and laid the foundations of all international agreements and treaties on the protection of the environment, including texts on climate change which the most complete is the Paris agreement of December 2015. The Copenhagen Summit brought together 117 heads of State and Government, hundreds of NGOs and helped put the issue of poverty in the world at the center of the programs of the international institutions.
[2] The topic of this seminar was the ethical and spiritual of progress Social Dimensions.
[3] Also its participation at the annual sessions in New York of the Commission on Social development, the Triglav circle is several years very active on the subject of “harmony with Nature”, one of the points that the United Nations General Assembly has included in its agenda under the rubric of sustainable development.
[4] a definition: “rural space is characterized by a population density relatively low, by a landscape a predominant vegetation cover (fields, prairies and other natural areas) by relatively large agricultural activity, at least by the surfaces it occupies” encyclopedia of the Agora for a sustainable world. “