Is a non governmental organization devoted to safeguarding, researching and promoting the language, culture and Catalan identity in the districts of the Aragon strip.
It is formed by persons that have ben active
in this struggle sonce the seventies as
well as the entities of the territory devoted
to specific areas like the academic world,
the natural environment, the youth, the
voluntary workers, sport or ecologism. It
also brings under its wings collectives
such as the «Western
strip Group for Catalan national teams»
and it works in close coordination with
organizations like the «Friends
of the Western strip» and the
«Western
University».
The Institution continuously carries out campaigns and actions all over the Catalan Countries and, recently, in Spain and Europe to explain the discriminatory situation that is suffered in the eastern strip of Aragon, and to require the official status of Catalan in our towns. It coordinates different areas of work, among others territorial development, traditions, natural heritage, monumental and artistic heritage, anthropology, sports and tourism.
The Language Observatory and the Legal Service analyse the state of Catalan and its defense in the face of attacks and discrimination on cultural or linguistic grounds, while they defend our cause legally.
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The Cultural Institution has various campaigns underway and, especially, in close relationship and harmony with our towns, actions of recovery and care of our culture, from pedagogy with children to the strengthening or recovery of our traditional feasts.
It also organizes acts
and campaigns beoynd the local area, as
well as as well as consolidated events like
the «King
James I Prizes», the «Night
of Culture», «Saint George»
and many others that try to articulate the
Strip.
Of special note, for its historic importanc e,
is the «Congress
of the Western strip» being
celebrated from August 2004 to July 2006,
in which top experts (from economics to
the ecclesiastical heritage), in 45 seminars
and congresses, analyze the current situation
plan strategies and actions fort he revival
of the Strip.
And
the «Western
strip Resource Centre». The first
big physical space and permanent centre
to supply schools, associations, with every
kind of free educational and cultural
material (exhibitions, audivisual shows,
lectures, etc), town councils and in short
to everybody that wants activities and resources
in Catalan
in the Eastern strip of Aragon. In parallell
it offers information on the cultural activity
born in the Western strip (ropck groups,
theatre, traditions, publications, etc.)
and it organizea all kinds of events all
over the Catalan-speaking lands and Europe.
Finally
it is worth poiinting out that the Institution
runs the
portal of the Western strip «franjadeponent.cat»,
the most visited web site of Catalan culture
in the world according to the Alexa
index, as well as the «Franja
de Ponent» magazine, which has
a big readership and wide distribution.
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