Two thirds of the Alpine population live in the main urban centres or are directly dependent on them. To that extent it goes without saying that the Alpine cities form the socio-economic heart of the Alps. This is something that receives too little attention in the framework of the Alpine Convention, which has a primarily rural focus. The Alpine cities are in competition with one another and with the non-Alpine urban centres at the same time. The objective of the CIPRA conference is to encourage the cities in the Alpine space to see their location as an asset. Among other things, the conference will address the role and responsibility of the Alpine cities for the surrounding areas in socio-economic, cultural and ecological terms, and the advantages that their function as a regional centre gives them. CIPRA's 2005 annual conference will be organized by CIPRA-Switzerland in collaboration with the Future of the Alps project.
Programme and registration available as of March 2005 at www.cipra.org