The conferences will take place on 15 and 16 June and the free registration is already opened. You can register yourself in the website of the International Centre of Gandia: http://www.fundaciouv.es/cig/

Potries will be the main town where the conferences will be taking place. They are entitled: “Valencian Historical Huertas. Living Heritage of Humanity”. They will become a forum of debate, reflection, research and dissemination of cultural and natural heritage of the historical huertas of the Valencian Community.

Irrigation is a universal issue that affects every Valencian town. The conferences will analyse this situation from different perspectives: heritage, architecture and the approach of the irrigators.

In the meeting, the mayor of de Potries, Assumpta Domínguez, expressed her concern on the vulnerability of heritage and indicated that its preservation depends on all of us. She explained that on 31 of December a new law will be in force whose intention is to cease irrigation by surface flooding. It is a common irrigation system in many towns. Therefore, one of the objectives of the sessions will be to study the preservation of this type of irrigation at a heritage level, as well as to make old systems coexist with the new ones. “We want to showcase old irrigation systems and recover its emotional connexion with the people of these lands” concluded. The sessions in Potries will be completed with the exhibition “El vínculo del agua”, which will publicly display tapestries and facilities related to irrigation.

The sessions want to study the historical huertas from different perspectives (irrigator, academic, expert and professional ones) looking to the past, but also the present and the future. They will address specific cases such as Potries, Vinalopó or Benilloba.

Sessions for heritage preservation

The sessions that will take place in Potries on 15 and 16 June aim to raise awareness on the values, the risks and the threats of its survival and the search of consensual solutions to guarantee that it can be enjoyed by future generations.

The traditional irrigation systems have an enormous heritage, cultural and natural value and give very valuable social, economic, cultural, landscape and environmental services to the communities. Present and future preservation of historical huertas and meadows is key to maintain the identity, cohesion and food security of the population. They also create a healthy environment characterized by biodiversity and agrodiversity.

The sessions are structured in a series of lectures and panels of discussion. They will count with the participation of experts from all branches of knowledge and social actors linked to the historical huertas and representing all the Valencian territory. The programme will be fulfilled with a visit to the irrigation system of La Safor, which is a model of the historical irrigation canal systems.

The meeting aims to become a referent for researchers, irrigators, politicians, educative centres, associations and citizens in general. Its objective is to promote preservation and value the material and living heritage related to the water-flowing through the historical irrigation canals and the irrigation plains.

The sessions are happening during the European Year of Cultural Heritage and the cultural capital status of Potries.