Ever since I can recall, as summer approaches in Andalusia (southern territory of the Spanish Iberian peninsula), not only the heat rises but also a strange feeling, some kind of fear that boils down to two words: forest fires. Nowadays, that feeling may not be so tangible because most of the population gather around cities and tend to ignore the existence of rural areas in their everyday lives, but, for me, that fear still stands. Although I was born and raised in a big city, I have spent all my summers in a small village in the mountains of Cádiz called El Bosque (literally, The Woods) and, there, you can feel it: every time you hear an helicopter engine, you look up to the sky and hope that the fire, at least, is not close to your village.
In order to achieve these ambitious purposes, a partnership of 15 Spanish and Portuguese entities –among which we can find the regional Administration of Andalusia, public universities and other private foundations -, was set up and six different work groups were established so as to work more efficiently. These teams, each one focused on one specific activity, are working towards the reinforcement of the cooperation infrastructures, the design of an awareness-raising plan or to develop scientific knowledge on the analysis and management of forest fire risk, for example.
During my IVY volunteering I am collaborating with one of those entities, Finnova Foundation, and I am actively supporting the activities of the communication department. I am creating content for the website and for CILIFO social media while giving support to the organisation of seminars and virtual events. We are raising awareness about how important it is to take care of our natural spaces and to be particularly cautious when it comes to fires in rural areas. Also, I am lending a hand in more bureaucratic paperwork, which is giving me a deep insight into how Interreg projects work.
In order to achieve these ambitious purposes, a partnership of 15 Spanish and Portuguese entities –among which we can find the regional Administration of Andalusia, public universities and other private foundations -, was set up and six different work groups were established so as to work more efficiently. These teams, each one focused on one specific activity, are working towards the reinforcement of the cooperation infrastructures, the design of an awareness-raising plan or to develop scientific knowledge on the analysis and management of forest fire risk, for example.
During my IVY volunteering I am collaborating with one of those entities, Finnova Foundation, and I am actively supporting the activities of the communication department. I am creating content for the website and for CILIFO social media while giving support to the organization of seminars and virtual events. We are raising awareness about how important it is to take care of our natural spaces and to be particularly cautious when it comes to fires in rural areas. Also, I am lending a hand in more bureaucratic paperwork, which is giving me a deep insight into how Interreg projects work.
There is still so much work to do and, although some goals of CILIFO have already been reached, we still have months ahead to keep on setting the path to foster collaboration between Spain and Portugal and try to put an end to massive forest fires in the South of the Iberian Peninsula.
Ana Piñero Domínguez, Interreg Project Partner at CILIFO project