The symposium entitled “The message of the mountains” was held at Casina Pio IV, promoted by the Department for Culture and Education together with the Secretariat of the FAO Mountain Partnership. Anchored in the words of Pope Francis’ Laudato si’, the event is part of the International Mountain Day that is celebrated every December 11 to highlight the role of mountains and the people who live in them for the balance of the planet
Adriana Masotti – Ciudad del Vaticano
“Women move mountains”: the theme of the International Mountain Day 2022 was intended to highlight the crucial role of women in the conservation of traditions, knowledge and protection of natural resources such as biodiversity in all mountain ecosystems of the world. Seventy guests attended the conference on December 12 at the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV, all of them protagonists of the mountain in various ways: climbers, mountain refuge owners, scientists, sustainable development experts, tour operators, volunteers, athletes.
The mountain: a spiritual experience
Pope Francis, at the Angelus on December 11, recalled the Day, noting that it invites us to “recognize the importance of this marvelous resource for the life of the planet and of humanity” and underlining that “from the mountaineers we learn the meaning of the community and walking together”. His words were quoted at the opening of the conference, in which Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Department for Culture and Education, spoke first. “The pilgrimage, the journey and the ascent represent the possibility of a deeper encounter with oneself”, was the opening speech of the cardinal, for whom “distance, often walking alternative routes, offers a broader and more enlightened vision “that we all yearn for. Life would be limited, he continued, if the possibility of this contact with nature that allows contact with one’s own interior did not exist.
Creation, a caress from God
“A spiritual itinerary, then, is the one we do in the mountains.” The inaccessible is progressively revealed as we climb the mountain, says the prefect. And he recalls the centrality of the mountain also in the arts, both Eastern and Western, citing the painter Paul Cezanne, who portrayed the mountain in his works more than 60 times. “Nobody is a painter until he paints an experience similar to what a mountain offers us”, said Cezanne. However, it is precisely the mountains that are the first to suffer the consequences of climate change today, and their populations that suffer the most. As Laudato si’ maintains -continues Tolentino de Mendonça-, caring for the environment is not only a technical issue, but also has a profoundly cultural and spiritual dimension. “All creation is a caress from God”, he continues, a sign of his love for us, just think of the sacred character that different religions assign to mountains, a place of God’s revelation, as the Bible also attests. . Friendship towards creation and social fraternity are the same thing and for this reason, the prefect concludes, we must mobilize our energies to carry out a cultural change that contains a new look towards the mountains, which materializes through new alliances and new global educational proposals especially aimed at young people.
end discrimination
The Director General of the FAO, Qu Dongyu, in his speech takes up the concept that mountains are not only a source of natural resources, but that they are made up of people, mountains are a matter of culture, of feelings that bring us closer to God. And he talks about the UN’s commitment to improve the lives of mountain people through sustainable development projects and to educate people by sharing the Pope’s passion for solidarity. He talks about the impact of the climate crisis and women’s lack of access to credit, land ownership and digitalization training. “We believe that when rural women have access to resources, services and opportunities, they can move a mountain, they can be a driving force against poverty.” So a change is needed to overcome inequality and we have to work together. We have to redouble our efforts regarding the protection of mountains and the development of their people, with positive effects for the entire world population, and it is encouraging to know that we can count on important partners such as the Holy See.
Where there are women, the mountains do not die
“Mountains: a precious heritage for the health of the planet and the well-being of billions of people,” says the permanent observer of the Holy See to the FAO, Monsignor Fernando Chica Arellano. Mountains cover a quarter of the earth’s surface and contain the biodiversity so precious to life on Earth, he continues, essential water deposits and electricity providers. 15% of the world’s population lives in the mountains and Chica Arellano mentions the numerous threats that endanger the mountains and their inhabitants on a daily basis. He affirms that they have learned to survive by developing a model of sustainable agriculture, and yet they are among those who suffer the most from the effects of the increase in temperatures and the melting of the glaciers. “We must support these communities,” says Arellano, “we must give them the tools they need to become the true guardians of the mountains instead of being forced to abandon them.” For the permanent observer, this “is a challenge that urgently needs to be addressed.” He then talks about the fundamental active role of women in caring for the mountains and the execution of innovative projects. However, women do not receive adequate support in this commitment and suffer discrimination. “Where there are women, the mountains do not die,” says Monsignor Arellano. “Towards the top”, said Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati when he climbed the mountains with his friends, this, adds the observer, should help us demand great things from life and encourage us to contribute. The mountain invites us to live time with respect for ourselves and for creation, and in a time of crisis like the current one, he concludes, we must commit ourselves so that the mountain can continue to bring men a message of serenity.
The commitment of the Italian Alpine Club
On behalf of the CAI, the Italian Alpine Club, Laura Colombo intervened: “Our Club -she said- has always kept three keywords alive: frequenting the mountains, their knowledge and their defense. The CAI is committed to sustainable development in projects in which women are the center. Colombo presents three totally feminine projects, one in Italy that connects Santa Teresa di Gallura, in Sicily, with Muggia, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, in a single route.A second educational project is underway in Kosovo, with the help of a great Albanian mountaineer, and a third in Pakistan, to map trekking routes, explore the possibility of creating a national park and train about 20 girls in the profession of mountain guide. mountaineering activities have been completely eliminated in CAI activities, concludes Laura Colombo.
Spirituality and challenges related to the mountain
“Mountains in spirituality and world cultures” is the theme of a talk by Edwin Bernbaum, Principal Investigator at the Mountain Institute, on cultural and spiritual values of protected areas. Magnificent images accompanied his words about how art has interpreted the physical and symbolic reality of mountains in all cultures. The third way up the mountain – Socio-historical approach” was the other topic addressed in the morning by Marco Cuaz, Professor of History at the University of Valle d’Aosta. Cuaz summarized the approach to the mountain experienced over time, from the formation of young people, even in the Catholic sphere, going through the cultural change from the concept of fatigue linked to the mountain to that of fun, with the spread of the ski spot and the unleashing of an entire economic system that lives on the exploitation of the mountain, also producing a dramatic environmental impact, up to wild tourism that takes even non-experts to the heights and shows little respect for nature.The solution that Cuaz proposes is an idea of the mountain as a “passable space”. , therefore not so much formed by tracks or cable cars, but by trails: a new form of tourism that is defined as “gentle” or “slow”, which in any case economically reverts to the populations. local ones. Today we face the challenge of mass tourism and we must all work together so that, he concludes, the mountains continue to be a splendid “magistra vitae” for everyone.