The IX Forum on Culture and Ruralities, organised by the Ministry of Culture, is being held in Zafra from 20 to 22 October under the theme ‘Shared Geographies: Culture and Cooperation in Transboundary Rural Contexts’. The event brings together more than 300 participants, focusing on rural communities in border areas and addressing challenges such as demographic decline and the loss of cultural knowledge.
Activities will take place in various venues across the municipality, including the Recinto Ferial, the Municipal Public Library, and the Cloister of the Town Hall. The forum aims to explore transnational cultural cooperation, promoting work dynamics tailored to the realities of border rural communities.
Throughout the three days, the programme will feature dialogue tables, collaborative workspaces, and funding advisory sessions, alongside the presentation of around twenty projects selected from over 150 initiatives submitted. Notable proposals will examine cultural alliances along the borders of Spain with Portugal, France, and Andorra.
The inaugural dialogue will include contributions from writer Mercè Ibarz, filmmaker Eloy Enciso, journalist José Ramón Alonso de la Torre, and Antonio Sáez, director of the Chair of Iberian Studies at the University of Évora. Additionally, the Common Cultural Agenda of Spain and Portugal will be introduced, aiming to promote cohesion and development in border territories.
Minority languages and linguistic contact modalities in border areas will be a central focus of the programme, featuring a moderated dialogue by Quim Barlona with creators from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The schedule also includes live artistic performances, such as ‘A new tuning of the world’ and concerts by Omiri and Niño de Elche, as well as a publishing showcase at the Municipal Library of Zafra.
The forum is designed as a space for meeting, reflection, and exchange among cultural agents in rural settings.
