The Public Office of the Occitan Language visits Limousin

On October 3, the Park received a delegation from the Public Office of the Occitan Language as part of a 3-day visit to Limousin.

Oplo, a privileged partner

An organization created by the State, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and the Occitanie Region, Oplo is responsible for implement a language policy (transmission, use and observation of the Occitan language) in the Occitan cultural area. The appointment of a new director at the beginning of the year was an opportunity for the Park to begin a discussion around the new Oplo project, in conjunction with the PNR Millevaches en Limousin and the Institute of Occitan Studies of Limousin (IEO). The two Parks and the IEO - all 3 committed to Occitan - therefore invited a delegation from Oplo to come and discover the Limousin actors of Occitan culture, but also the actions carried out, the expectations of the territory and local issues.

A visit to Limousin

This 3-day visit to Limousin began at the Parc de Millevaches. On site, the speakers discussed theurgency of the language and culture situation in Limousin, as well as the need for consolidate local initiatives and to compensate for lack of resources technical, financial and trained stakeholders in Limousin. The discussions continued with site visits to illustrate the possibilities of materializing Occitan culture in public developments. The day of October 2 was more specifically devoted to the question ofOccitan language teaching offerThe next day, the visit continued in the territory of the Périgord-Limousin Park.

Giving a voice to local stakeholders

For this 3^e and last day of meetings, the floor was given to local actors, such as hosts beneficiaries of the “Valeurs Parc” brand and having benefited from the support of the Park to develop an Occitan offer within their establishments. The Oplo delegation was also able to exchange with cultural programmers who integrate Occitan into their offerings. Finally, the meeting with natives of the territory and neo-rurals, in search of reinvestment of culture in their life projects and professional projects, has fueled the reflection on the place given to Occitan in Limousin.

The discussions highlighted the successes, but also the limits of the projects due to a lack of resources. The aim of these three days was to mobilize more sustained support from the OPLO in Limousin.