The office of the Vice-Principal for Territorial Projection and Society and the Institutes of Regional Studies (FIECOV), in collaboration with the Diputación de Valencia, have designed a programmed composed of 4 lectures given by experts of the Universitat de València and two round tables, one dedicated to political composition and another with the participation of several institutes of territorial studies.

The opening of the conference will take place at 9:45 and will be carried out by Jorge Hermosilla, Vice-Principal for Territorial Projection and Society; Mercedes Berenguer, vice president of the Diputación de Valencia; Josep Montesinos, dean of the Faculty of Geography and History and Josep V. Frechina, president of FIECOV.

The first four lectures will be given by members of the teaching staff of the Universitat de València. Professor of Geography Julia Salom will focus on the central regions of Valencia. Professor Javier Esparcia  (Geography Department) will present the lecture Prohibit teoritzar: del diagnòstic a l'acció en la lluita contra el despoblament en el medi rural. Lecturer Joan Carles Membrado (Geography Department) will tackle Valencian territorial complexity by analysing the different demarcations or functional areas. Finally, Applied Economics Deparment lecturer Joan Sanchis will address the territorialisation of proactive occupation policies in the Comunitat Valenciana.

The first round table, titled L'organització del territori des de la perspectiva política, will include representatives of the main political parties: Mª Josep Amigó (Compromís), Evarist Aznar (PP), Antonio Montiel (Podemos), Rosa Pérez (UL), Mª Carmen Peris (Citizens) and Antoni Such (PSPV).

The session will continue in the afternoon with a round table about the challenges of Valencian territorial structure. The president of FIECOV, Josep Vicent Frechina, will moderate the debate between representatives of the Institut d'Estudis Territorials del Caroig (IETEC), the Institut d'Estudis de la Vall d'Albaida (IEVA), the Centre d'Estudis i Investigacions Comarcals “Alfons el Vell”, the Institut d'Estudis Comarcals de la Foia de Bunyol-Xiva, Institut d'Estudis Comarcals de la Marina Alta (IECMA) and the Institut d'Estudis Comarcals de l'Horta Sud.

This is the 8th edition of the congress Universitat de València-Institutes of Regional Studies. According to Vice-Principal Jorge Hermosilla, ‘it shows the close relationship between the Universitat de València and the Institutes of Regional Studies (FIECOV), between the university community and the main centres who support the cultural awareness of the Valencian territory’.

The first contact took place in autumn 2010 and the next year they signed the first agreement of institutional collaboration, which was renewed in 2018. During these years, the Universitat de València and the IDECOS have organized conferences and congresses about environment, education, economy, tourism, territorial development, sustainability, participation, electoral analysis, historial memory or immaterial heritage. This 8th edition will tackle the territorial structure of Valencia. This is a stable collaboration that brings to light the commitment of the Universitat de València with the territory and the Valencian society.