Main areas of work related to the Convention:
The cultural and pedagogical Association Ponte...nas Ondas! ( hereinafter "PNO!" ) is comprised of teachers from Galicia and the north of Portugal who come from different education levels, ranging from compulsory education to University. Its activities began in 1995 and continue up to present date. Galician and Portuguese specialists in pedagogy, philology, anthropology and ethnography collaborate on the Association's projects.
The first activities of the Association were focused on achieving, in both sides of the Galician-Portuguese border, a mutual recognition of the Galician-Portuguese Intangible Heritage ( hereinafter "GPIH" ).
• Inter-school Communication Days
PNO!'s activity started with a day of communication and dialogue via radio between educational institutions from Galicia and the north of Portugal, carried out entirely by students: this initiative was named "PONTE...NAS ONDAS! Inter-school communication day" ( the Association chose its name after this event ).
The subject matter of its 6th edition ( year 2000 ) was UNESCO's project "The Slave Route", in which schools of the UNESCO Associated Schools participated with a 24-hour radio broadcast from Europe, Africa and America.
Since the proclamation of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001, the Association decided to start a line of work on the Intangible Heritage.
The Inter-school Communication Day has had 20 editions, and saw the participation of more than 800 educational institutions from Spain and Portugal, as well as other educational institutions from America and Africa.
• Samples of the Galician-Portuguese oral tradition
Activity aimed to disseminate the GPIH all along the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion. The Samples of the Galician-Portuguese Oral Tradition intend to make known, in a single event, examples of the oral Galician-Portuguese tradition by joining oral expression, theater and music together.
Since its first edition, 10 samples have taken place in locations in Galicia and the north of Portugal.
• Meeting of the Galician-Portuguese Intangible Heritage Bearers ( Melgaço 2005 )
Meeting aimed to give visibility to the Candidature of the Galician-Portuguese Intangible Heritage presented before the UNESCO. For three days, representative expressions of the Galician-Portuguese intangible heritage were shown.
• Galician-Portuguese Oral Tradiction Collection Contest (2006)
This activity was aimed to collect samples of the Galician-Portuguese intangible heritage from an educational point of view, so the students can find out their nearest heritage expressions. The collected samples came with the corresponding technical data sheet and transcription. This was the only contest aimed to the educational institutions of the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion.
• Publication of books, CDs and DVDs related to the Galician-Portuguese intangible heritage.
Meniños Cantores ( 2005 ). CD-Book-DVD produced by 17 educational institutions from Galicia and the north of Portugal featuring traditional songs and a documentary about the GPIH. Published in Galician, Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Cores do Atlántico ( 2010 ). CD-Book about the cantigas de amigo ( Galician-Portuguese medieval lyric poetry ) from the Galician-Portuguese oral tradition carried out by brazilian artist Socorro Lira and Ria Lemaire, professor at the Université de Poitiers.
Na ponte ( 2013 ). CD-Book-DVD that collects works from teachers, anthropologists, journalists and artistic collaborators from PNO!
• International Congress “PONTES DE CULTURA, PONTES DE FUTURO” (2010)
Cross-border congress carried out on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of PNO! Teachers, anthropologists, journalists and artists particicipated as speakers and discussed the GPIH and PNO!'s role. The Congress's main subjects were education, the heritage, the ICTs and the media.
• Living treasures of the sea ( 2013 )
Project for the recovery of the maritime heritage of A Guarda`s town council ( Galicia ). Interviews and data related to heritage-bearers were collected. The initiative resulted in the creation of a website and the publication of a Book-DVD about the recognition of persons and groups belonging to maritime culture in A Guarda's town council.
• Galician-Portuguese Traditional Games Meetin
Aimed at educational institutions at both sides of the border, this activity intends to convey the traditional Galician-Portuguese games to the younger generations. It takes place in locations in Galicia or in the north of Portugal. XI annual meetings have already been held.
• Candidacy of the Galician-Portuguese Intangible Heritage
Presented by Spain and Portugal in 2004. It was the first candidature promoted by two educational institutions from two european countries. The process started in 2005 and the proposal was developed for two years by team of the Association.
• Recognitions
PNO!'s activities were awarded the seal “Buena práctica Iberoamérica” by Spain's Ministry of Education, culture and Sport; they also received the ONDAS award (Spain's most prestigious communications awards) in 2014 for the “best media coverage of the Galician-Portuguese intangible heritage”.
Objectives
The objectives for the creation of the Cultural and Educational Association PONTE…NAS ONDAS! included in its statutes are the following:
1. Spread the manifestations of the Galician-Portuguese Cultural Heritage.
2. Foster the conservation and respect for the Cultural Heritage of the Euroregion as an original cultural property in this territory with a presence throughout the world.
3. Foster the relationship among the Galician and Portuguese educational establishments as well as others from different countries in order to strengthen their mutual knowledge.
4. The promotion of cultural and educational activities in school environments and the spread of activities related to the school radio and the use of new technologies in school.
5. The spread and use of Galician language in relation with Portuguese, as well as the promotion of the common identity of the two territories through an overall perspective of the European integration and the Portuguese-speaking world.
6. Promote the collection and spread of the Intangible Heritage contents in order to be the link of the bearers of knowledge with new generations and, at the same time, enhance the potential of this heritage.
7. Defend before governments and organisations deemed appropriate, the creation of the Euroregion Living Human Treasures System.
8. Collaborate with other associations, as well as public and private bodies to carry out activities which help to revitalise and keep the expressions of the Galician-Portuguese Cultural Heritage alive.
Cooperation
The PNO! ( Ponte…nas ondas! ) Association has been working since 2002 towards the documentation, gathering and recognition of several manifestations of the GPIH ( Galician-Portuguese Intangible Heritage ). This work was always carried out in direct contact with the communities bearing the said heritage. These groups collaborated in many of the Association's activities in order to revitalize this heritage and convey it to the younger generations.
During the elaboration of the proposal for the Candidature of the Galician-Portuguese Intangible Cultural Heritage, which began in 2002, the Association contacted the representative communities of the GPIH in both Galicia and the north of Portugal. These communities were representative of the heritage's fields featured in the Candidature: the oral tradition's popular literature, the oral tradition of rural and fishing areas, the artisanal knowledge and the celebrations throughout the year. The written consent and the Candidature's documentation were submitted together.
In all of the GPIH's fields, the bearing communities and gathering groups of this heritage in Galicia and North of Portugal collaborated with the Association, thus providing equipment and performing conveying activities in formal learning as well as in public events.
Once the Candidature was presented before the UNESCO in 2004, and as it was being assessed by the international jury, communities and bearers performed activities to spread the common heritage throughout the Galicia-North of Portugal Euroregion.
Due to its territorial involvement and the number of involved communities, we wish to highlight the role of the Galician Federation for Maritime and Fluvial Culture ( Galician initials: FGCMF ), which groups together with important bonds the maritime communities of the Galician and Portuguese coastline that protect the manifestations of the Galician-Portuguese maritime culture.
The forest or baldíos (communal property system of swabian origin) communities, wich are grouped together in several Federations along the whole Euroregion and perform communal agricultural and farming activities, also collaborated with the Association.
Other experiences with communities included their participation in some of the Association's activities such as the Samples of the Galician-Portuguese Oral Tradition, the Traditional Games Meetings or the Inter-School Communication Days "Ponte..nas ondas!".