For the first time, the photographers were present to see how their work has come together. The Mediterranean Consortium partners, MAVA Foundation, and many NGOs and families were also invited to the opening of the exhibition that was held the evening of October 10 2014.
At the opening, cheese products gathered from the different regions of the consortium partners were the welcome treats. Each type of cheese was a story that partners of the consortium could tell. In addition to the 60 photographs, 10 photographs of the Swiss Désalpe (return of the cows from the mountains in Autumn) by photographer, Alexander Belokurov were also displayed. Videos of the different regions were displayed as a short documentary explaining the whole story of grazing and transhumance in the different regions of the Mediterranean Basin.
The exhibition in Geneva stayed from 11 October to 30 November 2014. The exhibition was visited by many and the Museum team was highly excited and impressed by the outcomes of the exhibition.
Meanwhile, during that weekend, the Mediterranean Consoritum partners, Diversearth, Med-Ina, Associacion Transhumancia y Naturaleza, WWF North Africa, and SPNL in the presence of MAVA Foundation and IUCN had a technical meeting to discuss what the consortium has done so far and the lessons learned. They have also discussed how they need to move on with this project and what the next steps should be.
On Sunday October 12 2014, the team has carved out the skeleton of a very nice, very practical but still exciting way forward for the coming years. SPNL in the next steps of the culture and nature project is willing to continue its work on the grazing practice, yet highlight on other practices within one of its Himas where transhumance is also present, empower the local community through marketing their musical instruments that are related to nature yet still exist within the shepherd and tribal culture, and spread the awareness among the young generation for the importance of these cultural practices.
Many surprises are waiting on the local level in Lebanon, one of which is “On the Move” in Lebanon in December!
