This Sunday ends on “retreat” of Alfonso Rueda and his twelve advisors to Sober (Lugo), where they devote the weekend to establishing the strategic lines which will govern the next movements of their mandate. The same formula that his predecessor in the Galician government, Manuel Fraga, used in the 90s, with a change of scenery: from the monastery to the hotel. The chosen one, the Palacio de Sober, is a royal building, an ancient mansion located in the heart of the Ribeira Sacra, which offered senior regional officials the comfort and tranquility to concentrate, these two days, on the work of team. If the forecasts come true, the Galician president will appear before the media on Sunday to report on the areas in which they have progressed and the lines of action studied. For now, this Saturday, the Minister of Culture, José López Campos, broke the institutional silence to announce one of the decisions already agreed: An international congress in October will promote the candidacy of Ribeira Sacra as a world heritage site, the “only” one who comes from Spain.
The chosen days will be October 27, 28 and 29 and the competition will take place at Hostel Santo Estevo, in Nogueira de Ramuín (Ourense). It will be organized by the Department of López Campos and will bring together experts and researchers in heritage assets, but also cultural and academic institutions, and administration authorities, both at the local level and from other autonomies. The objective will be to “create synergies”, indicates the Xunta; that’s to say, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the application and promote collaboration strategies between the sectors concerned. In this sense, the councilor confirmed that the proposal, due to the way in which it is constructed, is “closely linked to the world of water, of sources”. And that this responds to a conscious “decision” of the Xunta, that of “giving it a singular value”, which López Campos considered “a success” so that the candidacy differentiates itself from its competitors.
“I am convinced that we currently have a very solid and well-worked nomination, with an important element in its favor: the Ribeira Sacra will be the only Spanish nomination for World Heritage in 2026,” said López Campos. In fact, the advisor was optimistic about this scenario which, according to him, gives it greater “strength” when it comes to “defending it against the applications presented by nearly 200 countries” to UNESCO. But it will be “tough competition,” he admitted. “Spain is the fifth country with the most properties declared world heritage. This obviously obliges us to ensure that our applications are increasingly prepared and studied, but also gives us strength [saber] that we have the experience and support of all autonomous communities (…). I am convinced, I have no doubt, that we have the best possible application for the Ribeira Sacra to be declared a World Heritage Site,” added the head of the Culture portfolio.
As López Campos explained, his administration submitted all necessary documentation as soon as possible, He sent it to the Ministry and presented it to UNESCO so that its processing could begin. Then a “second phase” will begin, which will begin in January, with the provision of additional documentation, and will continue during the summer of 2025, when technicians from Icomos – an organization linked to UNESCO – will will travel to Ribeira to supervise the entire ensemble. scope of the project. Finally, UNESCO will decide at its annual meeting in 2026 whether or not to grant the Ribeira Sacra its World Heritage distinction.
Two days without distractions
It remains to be seen what other questions will have been put on the table during Alfonso Rueda’s two days of “confinement” with his advisors. The regional leader’s team chose a backwater in the heart of Galicia as the location to avoid any distractions at the time; the same thing that Manuel Fraga used to do, mainly in monasteries, during his years as leader of the Galician government. In any case, Rueda is scheduled to appear in public on Sunday to explain the areas of work in which they have advanced.
As he announced this week, the central theme of the dialogues held this weekend This would be in the short term, facing the months to come; But Xunta’s team’s agenda also included defining the legislative body’s strategic lines and strengthening coordination between departments, establishing new goals and defining priorities in each area.
