Islands and the communities who live on them provide examples of often quite sophisticated adaptations to difficult circumstances. As such, they offer opportunities and examples of sustainable living to which our urban communities might aspire. Our islands are places of inspiration and renewal from which many people can benefit. This was the general conclusion at the ISLA final conference on March 11 and 12 in Rothesay, on the Scottish Isle of Bute. 

  ISLA is a cooperation of a number of small islands in North West Europe that started in 2004 and is supported by the EU. Project partners present at the final conference were the French islands of Ouessant and Quéménès, the Dutch island of Tiengemeten and the Scottish isles of Shetland and Argyll & Bute, who hosted the conference in cooperation with the project’s lead partner DLG from the Netherlands. Sadly, the delegation from the Irish Bere Island could not reach Rothesay because of the severe storm.    ISLA has contributed to the realisation of various projects on the islands, like the Shetland Heritage Museum and the restoration of several cultural heritage buildings. Nature island Tiengemeten has restored a number of old characteristic farmhouses. On Quéménès, sustainable energy supply through wind and solar energy was achieved. For Bere Island, the Old Schoolhouse was renovated in order to open it as a Heritage Complex. Argyll & Bute has undertaken different projects at three islands Islay, Gigha and Lismore.   All of the practical experiences and recommendations the project partners gained through their exchange of knowledge at meetings and site visits, have been recorded in ISLA’s final report. At the conference, this report was presented to councillor Len Scoullar of Argyll & Bute by project manager Joop Eilander of DLG. Presentations of all project partners and guests like councillor Nico Kikkert of the Dutch island of Texel and Roel Posthoorn of Natuurmonumenten all gave excellent examples of opportunities for island communities and networks. Site visits to Ardencraig Gardens and Mount Stewart House were made to see examples of island development.   

At the closing of the conference, the essence of the project was translated into a final statement. This document points out the themes that deserve politicians’ and authorities’ extra attention. It is a call to stakeholders and policy makers to continue to invest in the islands. ISLA has proven that this can be vital for a sustainable and viable future of island communities, and that island networks can generate great innovative power.    The European Union supports the project through the Interreg European Regional Development Fund. You will find more information on ISLA on www.isla-europe.com.  

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 2:47 pm and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.