Meeting between French and Italian BELC members: an opportunity to discuss a shared European identity

At the beginning of July, the municipality of Forio on the Italian island of Ischia hosted a European meeting where Italian and French BELC members came together to exchange their experiences within the network. 

Alexandre Mazin, a French BELC member travelled from Saint-Léonard de Noblat to Italy and met Giustina Mattera, an Italian BELC member who was hosting the event, organised by the municipality of Forio and the parish of San Leonardo de Panza, in memory of the gathering organised 20 years ago by Italian and French municipalities with sites dedicated to Saint Leonard.  

Christian Gsodam from the EU External Action Service had an important role of presenting the BELC network in three languages (French, Italian and English) and encouraging those local councillors who arrived from abroad to join BELC. Copies of the latest BELC newsletter were also distributed to each delegation in their own language. 

More than 10 delegations with over 250 people from Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Malta and Slovakia came together for the occasion, including local councillors, two bishops, cultural associations, such as choirs and a musical band.