The Faculty of Economics hosts today Monday, 28th September, a colloquium on the Silk Road that coincides with the celebration of the World Tourism Day. The debate starts at 12:00h in the Room Sánchez Ayuso. In the event participate members of the Universitat, of the Generalitat, of the City Hall, of Unesco, and of the Colegio del Arte Mayor de la Seda.
The vice-principal for Sustainability and Planning, Clara Martínez, participates on the debate, which will be moderated by the Economics professor María Iborra. It will also attend Francesc Colomer, regional secretary for Tourism; the councillor for Tourism, Joan Calabuig; the coordinator in Spain of the Unesco programme of the Silk Road, José María Chiquillo; and a representative of the Colegio del Arte Mayor de la Seda of Valencia.
The Universitat will offer to all the actors involved in this project that organise as a group to be able to coordinate actions. From the entrepreneurs (chamber of commerce), institutions (Valencian Tourist Agency, Department of Tourism), UNESCO, World Tourism Organisation, Colegio Mayor del Arte de la Seda and the rest involved from the territory.
Since silk was discovered over 4.000 years ago in China, its production and sale have acquired great economic and social relevance, being the silk trade one of the roads around which the relationship between the people of East and West has revolved.
Through silk it has been produced an economic, technologic, artistic and culture communication between very remote geographical areas. The human and technological movements, the product and art forms transfers between different geographical areas had an invigorated effect of multiple changes in societies and people.
Spain is already part of some roads both at a national and European level. Since 1990, year in which in Spain was constituted, with the collaboration of the Universitat de València, the Spanish Commission of the Silk Road, it has been performed in consequence of being part of the silk road as a culture itinerary of which we are a part of centuries ago.
There are many links of Valencia and the trade silk roads and corridors. The prosperity of the Valencian silk industry comes from the tradition of the Muslim period, but the industry experienced a notable growth thanks to the arrival to this city of Genoese artisans, who imported advanced technology and boosted the artisanal specialisation necessary to obtain quality fabrics. The city of Valencia was an important export of silk fabrics at the end of the 15th century.
Buildings such as the Lonja de la Seda, recognised as World Heritage by Unesco in 1996, reflect the relevance of this product in our city. Something similar occurs with the headquarters of the Colegio del Arte Mayor de la Seda of Valencia, building that is nowadays being renovated. This guild institution became guarantor of the technical precision with which the different fabrics were elaborated, thanks to which the Valencian silks got a notable significance out of our borders.
INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
The World Tourism Organisation (WTO), responsible for the programme of the silk road, included Spain on 1st April as the country number 32 in the programme. The entry of Spain was carried out due to a request made by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. Said request is the result of the request for inclusion of Spain in the programme carried out by the Unesco Centre of Valencia and the Universitat de València.
In the month of April, the senator José María Chiquillo, person that has been part of the group thanks to that Spain is part of the WTO programme, has been appointed by AECID as ‘focal point’ for the UNESCO Silkroad online Platform. Therefore, since that moment Spain is present in the two programmes that there are in this area.
From the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism has been requested to the WTO and to the UNESCO that the point of the peninsula that appears in the interative maps were Valencia, as a reference point of the Roads.
Consequently, on July, Les Corts supported the proposal for Valencia City of the Silk 2016, coinciding with the 20 anniversary of La Lonja as a World Heritage of UNESCO and the next reopening of the Colegio del Arte Mayor de la Seda.
On August it was constituted the University Network of the Silk Road. The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, through the State Office of the secretary for Tourism, contacted the Universitat, as a direct partner of the project to request being the Spanish university that attends the congress.
Last update: 28 de september de 2015 07:55.
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