Tolosaldea Garatzen, the Development Agency of Tolosaldea, presented on March 14 the Strategic Plan of Tolosaldea for the period 2018-2025. The Plan has aroused the adherence of the main business, social and institutional agents of the Gipuzkoan region. NAIDER has acted as a think tank for the Plan and has acted as technical secretary for the entire participatory process of preparation.
The act also welcomed the signing of the protocol of the “CARTA DE VALUES, RETOS Y COMMITMIOS DE TOLOSALDEA”, which initials the social support for the ambitious objectives of the Plan.
More than 50 representatives of the business, social and institutional environment of the Region and the Territory came this Wednesday to the LEHIBERRI Center for Competitiveness and Innovation in the Apatta business park to show their support for the lines of work and initiatives proposed in the Plan.
The event was chaired by the president of Tolosaldea Garatzen and mayoress of Tolosa, Olatz Peon, the Deputy for Economic Promotion, Rural Environment and Territorial Balance Ainhoa Aizpuru, and the vice president of the agency, Ixiar Arratibel, councilor of the Ibarra city council. The event was also attended by a large group of mayors and councilors from other municipalities in the region, representatives of the main companies in the area, merchants and members of numerous social, environmental and cultural organizations in Tolosaldea.
The Plan has been co-promoted by the regional development agency Tolosaldea Garatzen and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and has had the expert support of NAIDER, a consultancy specialized in local and territorial transformation processes, for its preparation. During its preparation process, the Plan has had the contributions of more than 150 people from the social and business spheres of the region that have been channeled through different perception surveys and work groups developed for this purpose.
The Plan is structured around three work programmes. In the economic field, the commitment of the business fabric of the region to Industry 4.0, technological development and the creation of new companies stands out. Among its most innovative proposals, the objective of configuring a pole of innovation and business development in electro-mobility stands out in the Tolosaldea environment. An important role is also given to the region’s agri-food industry and the need to transform the numerous farms to provide them with sufficient critical mass and competitiveness.
At the environmental level, the Strategic Plan displays a set of proposals where Nature, energy efficiency and the transition to a new mobility model are the central axes. The Plan includes some important proposals such as the transformation of the current railway into an urban metro, taking advantage of the release of uses derived from the start-up of the high-speed line. It also includes initiatives to reduce the environmental and urban impact of the N1 through a naturalization process as it passes through the municipalities of the region.
From a social point of view, the Plan is committed to renewing the values of coexistence in the region in order to move towards a much more collaborative, eco-responsible and connected region. The Plan specifically reserves a space for the region’s commitment to the Basque language to promote its use in all areas. Taking advantage of its high level of euskaldunization, Tolosaldea also wishes to apply as a laboratory for the normalization of the language in environments such as business, health or justice.
All the values and commitments proposed in the Plan are included in the so-called “Tolosaldea Charter of Values, Challenges and Commitments”. This manifesto, which has already been signed by numerous agents, is open to the progressive adherence of all citizens and the social, business and cultural agents of the region. The Charter intends to establish itself as an effective tool for the implementation of the Plan and the dissemination of the values of collaboration, eco-responsibility and inclusion on which the future of the region is to be built.
The symbolic signing of the “Tolosaldea Charter of Values, Challenges and Commitments” by the authorities and attendees has put the final touch on the day of presentation of the Plan.
All the materials produced are available on the Tolosaldea Garatzen website (www.tolosaldeagaratzen.eus), as well as on the profiles enabled to give visibility and diffusion of the Strategic Plan in the different social networks
In Tolosa, March 14, 2018
Contact person:
Carlos Cuerda
ccuerda@naider.com
