Cultivated Territories: Culture and Sustainable Territorial Development in the Mediterranean

Culture as a driver of territorial transition, the Territoires Cultivés (Cultivated Territories) project aims to make culture a driving force for ecological, social, and territorial transition at all scales, from neighbourhoods to the Euro-Mediterranean region. This partnership brings together local authorities, experts, and citizens to experiment with new synergies between culture, ecology, and territorial planning.

To cultivate contemporary cultural forms capable of addressing—with precision and sensitivity—the major challenges facing the Mediterranean: climate urgency, social divisions, and urban transformations.

A culture of awareness, to raise alerts and mobilise consciences, a culture of projection, to envision shared and desirable futures; a culture of memory, to preserve and enhance endangered knowledge, heritage, and practices.

AVITEM plays a pivotal role in this process by coordinating the partners involved in this ambitious decentralised cooperation. This includes three French local authorities—the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, the City of Vitrolles, and the Corsican Authority—as well as a Turkish local authority, the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.

Since January 2025, we have been supported in this project particularly in drafting deliverables and organising collective intelligence workshops, by a group of experts: Maud Le Floch, Jean-François Chougnet, Valérie Astesano, Amine Benaissa, and Cleo Smits.

The Izmir Symposium

On 4–5 September 2025, the project will reach a decisive milestone with the Izmir Symposium in Turkey, which will culminate in the signing of the Manifesto of Mediterranean Cities for Culture and Ecology.

Through a transdisciplinary approach combining culture, urban design, ecology, and citizen participation, the Symposium will foster collective reflection on the future of Mediterranean territories. How can we rethink the interplay between ecological transition, social justice, and the valorisation of territorial memories? How can we restore the connections between humans and non-humans in Mediterranean spaces? These are some of the questions that will be explored, drawing on Izmir’s experience to create sensitive, inclusive, and sustainable territorial models.

The Territoires Cultivés Forums

The Territoires Cultivés Forums mark the milestones of this cooperative dynamic by bringing together major stakeholders in culture and sustainable territorial transition—project leaders, institutions, artists, researchers, and engaged citizens—around a shared goal: producing eco-responsible solutions focused on cultural resilience.

Open Forum of Nice — 28 & 29 November 2024

The first Territoires Cultivés Open Forum was held in Nice during the Mediterranean Day, launching the cycle of meetings. Over two days of reflection—from sea to land—the forum explored the role of creativity in shaping a shared ecological imagination, the contribution of agroecology to territorial resilience, and the transformation of cultural practices in the face of climate challenges.

Rooted in history, the forum included an inaugural lecture from the Mediterranean Chair, highlighting Mediterranean networks as drivers of a common and solidarity-based culture.

Open Forum of Vitrolles — 23 & 24 May 2025

Hosted by the City of Vitrolles, the second Territoires Cultivés Open Forum provided an interdisciplinary space for dialogue around a key question: How can we imagine and experiment with new synergies between culture, ecology, and territorial planning? Bringing together artists, researchers, urban planners, and citizens, this exchange aimed to outline new avenues for action, grounded in local realities and open to regional dynamics.

Open Forum of Bastia / Ajaccio — 19 & 20 June 2025

The third Territoires Cultivés Open Forum, the final step before the Izmir Symposium, was held in Corsica under the theme: “Cultural Rights to Transform Our Territories” / I diritti culturali pè trasfurmà i nostri territorii.

It explored the connections between tangible, intangible, and natural heritage, territorial transition dynamics, cultural rights, and the essential role of cultural actors in rural areas.

Project Outputs and Commitments

The Territoires Cultivés Forums are not just spaces for exchange—they produce concrete outputs, serving as practical tools for action and fostering lasting dialogue between sectors that are still too often siloed.

Practical Booklets: Designed as guides for collective action, these documents compile knowledge, share experiences, and guide public policies. They support the implementation of pilot projects (Living Labs) which act as catalysts for synergies between cultural actors, urban planners, developers, local authorities, and ecological transition stakeholders.

Forum Restitutions: The Open Forums also result in tools that capture the insights from roundtables, exchanges, and inaugural lectures.