Creating the region in the mind

In October 2004, the 2nd PRO-SUD committee was established under the chairmanship of Lydia Mutsch. From then on, a management cell was set up to implement the work programme of the syndicate. The region had to be created in people’s minds and there were many events in different fields of activity that had been discussed at the future conference. PRO-SUD was working with the shops in the town centres and on tourism, the Regional Tourist Office (ORT) did not yet exist.

A photo exhibition “The region in twenty years” anticipates the future direction of the syndicate. The inhabitants were asked to imagine the region in twenty years’ time, and already at that time, photos mixed industry and nature. The opening at SKIP in August 2006 was a success. In 2014, 9 workshops with a total of 1224 students from the southern region were organised as part of SudTEC. The aim of this programme is to raise children’s awareness of science and new technologies in a fun way.

One of the successful missions is the pooling of services, in particular with the grouped and sustainable purchase of paper. And a regional, rather than communal, agreement for the implementation of the Night Rider transport, an individual night bus with no fixed itinerary or stops, and the Night Card Sud, a transport ticket for the Night Rider financed by the municipalities of the South.

Finally, the territorial observatory set up at the time made it possible to monitor data, including demographic data, on various territorial themes in order to estimate developments and help the municipalities in their preparatory study of the PAG (General Development Plan).