Actions to encourage “anchoring the Port of Bayonne in the Town”
One of the strategic actions undertaken by the Port of Bayonne is to work towards fully integrating the port’s activities into the communities concerned by its existence.
The CCI of Bayonne, the Basque Country, having been chosen by the Regional Council of Aquitaine as managers of the Port of Bayonne for a period of 15 years, is developing this integration in different ways.
Work with Port companies is constant and on-going. Consultation and cooperation with the different municipal councils concerned (Anglet, Bayonne, Boucau and Tarnos) and with territorial authorities has existed for many years and is indispensible for the smooth functioning of the Port of Bayonne.
It just remains for these measures to succeed as far as the populations of these communities and the public at large are concerned.
In this respect, several actions have been undertaken since the beginning of 2009.
1. Awareness campaigns for teachers, in collaboration with the National Education Department, talking about “The Port of Bayonne today”.
2. Training sessions for official Town of Bayonne Guides
3. Active contribution made by the Port of Bayonne to the “Ville d’Art et d’Histoire” seal of approval.
Teachers and Bayonne guides visiting the Port
2nd December 2009
1 – Awareness campaigns for teachers
In close collaboration with the Academy of Bordeaux, an awareness programme is currently underway in order to discover the port and its heritage. The training sessions are led by Mano Curutcharry, who is an intermediary professor of heritage sites in the Pyrenees Atlantiques Departement. The sessions bring together a group of 20 primary and/or secondary school teachers from the area; the theme of the session is “The Port of Bayonne today”.
The goal is that these sessions to discover and visit the Port, which are part of the further teacher training programmes, will enable the teachers to develop teaching tools for their pupils.
2 – Training sessions for official Town of Bayonne Guides
In liaison with the Bayonne Cultural Affairs Department and the Tourist Information Office, the Port of Bayonne has begun a series of meetings in order to “brief” professional guides on presentation visits of the Port of Bayonne.
These guides (a total of 3 in Bayonne) are already taking people on visits to the Port of Bayonne (particularly as part of the organised “bike trips to discover the left bank”).
The goal for the Guides and the Port of Bayonne is to optimise these presentations, and even to create specific themes, for example – discover the Port of Bayonne trades.
3 – Active contribution to the «Bayonne, Ville d’Art et d’Histoire» seal of approval
Bayonne has embarked upon the process of obtaining the “Ville d’Art et d’Histoire” seal of approval. The Port of Bayonne is a keen partner to this undertaking as the theme “Bayonne, a Port town” forms part of this process.
The goal is to register the Port of Bayonne as an integral part of Bayonne heritage and to acknowledge its role in developing and giving life to a geographic area, both yesterday and today.
These actions are being carried out in close relationship with the Regional Council of Aquitaine, who owns the Port of Bayonne.
The ambition of both the Regional Council and the Port is to involve the communities surrounding the Port in this type of undertaking.