TRADUCTION / TRANSLATION :

CONSEIL DÉPARTEMENTAL DE LA CORRÈZE

An objective of Project CREA, called Vivre en ruralité (Rural living), aims at running micro operations of local social development making it possible to meet the needs of the children, young people, women and families with regards to the range of local social structures and to, therefore, supplement the existing services offered.

Among the various zones of experimentation (Area of Tulle, Communes of the Pompadour area) we can target, for example, the Dordogne valley.

This region has 24,000 inhabitants living in 65 very rural communes. Far from the cities' infrastructures, the families must often deal with an absence of activities in the rural communes. Due to this situation, the institutional partners have thus, since 2000, in collaboration with the parents, elected officials of the area and local associations undertaken a total reflection on this issue.

This reflection, study and investigation, with the population of he area, led to developing a project which installs local services platforms, such as day leisure centres, opened to children and young people aged from 4 to 16 years old. Quality and adapted facilities are provided for each age range, all coordinated by an experienced area manager.

Each platform is centralized and treats the legal, administrative, technical and financial questions. This allows strong economies of scale by pooling human and material resources on the one hand, whilst on the other hand, guaranteeing recruitment of permanent qualified and trained staff. These allow the perpetuation of the actions considered and validated by the elected officials of the area.

In 2001, the first operating platform was inaugurated in Argentat (3,200 inh.). It was placed under the joint responsability of the commune of Argentat and the Association pour le développement du pays d'argentat et de la Xaintrie-ADAXA (Association for the development of the area of Argentat and Xaintrie) which covers the 32 participating communes in this project.

Il equips three local centres allowing the children to be cared for as close as possible to their home, one in Argentat for the district of Argentat (6,000 inhabitants), a second in Saint-Privat for the Saint-Privat district (3,500 inhabitants) and a third in Camps-Saint Mathurin for the district of Mercoeur (2,500 inhabitants).

In 2002,a second operating platform was inaugurated in Meyssac (1,200 inhabitants). It manages four local centres under the responsability of the Syndicat Intercommunal de développement du Pays de Beaulieu-Beynat-Meyssac -SIDBBM (Inter-communal union for the development of the areas of Beaulieu-Beynat-Meyssac) and under the control of an area manager, one centre in meyssac serving the district of Meyssac (4,800 inhabitants), a second in Beynat for its own district (3,300 inhabitants), and a third in Tudeils for the district of Beaulieu (3,900 inhabitants). A fourth local centre was opened in Beaulieu for the reception of young pre-teenagers and teenagers from the whole area with activities specifically adapted to their age group.

Thus, as from summer 2002, two local services platforms function under the innovating system of the creation of 7 local centres covering the Dordogne Valley and accommodating more than 3,000 children and young people under sixteen years old present in this area.

The entire innovating local centres system adds up, over the year 2002, to about six thousands days-children, which represents approximately 400 different children accommodated over 100 opened days, whereas in 1999, the reception reached a maximum of about 2,500 days-children on 2 sites only.

However, because of the size of the area (1,000 km2), some families still live far from the local centres. Within the framework of the action Vivre en ruralité (Rural living) by Project CREA, it was therefore decided to set up transport to the places of reception for the most distant children. Progress brought by EQUAL in this field was decisive. Shuttle-buses were set up, since the summer of 2002, between Altillac and Camps-Saint-Mathurin, Goulles and Camps-Saint-Mathurin and between Beaulieu and Tudeils. On average, about twenty children were transported every day.

This daily transport system simplified the life of the families and particularly facilitated the conciliation between family and professional life for the mothers who work. In addition to that, they considerably increased the usage of the local centres.

A coordination system for children and youths is organized, on the scale of the Dordogne Valley area, to continue local social dynamics and to think, from now onwards, about the means of continuity for the undertaken actions, particularly with regard to the transport of the children to the places of reception after the termination of the EQUAL initiative.

Il should be noted that the supporting legal structures, The ADAXA association and the SIDBBM trade union benefit from Contrats Enfance et Temps Libres (Children and Leisure Time Contracts) agreed by the CAF de la Corrèze (Family Allowance Fund of Corrèze) for the technical follow-up, and a significant  co-financing from the Projet social territorial pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse (Children and Youth local social project). These systems, cumulative with EQUAL, currently in renegotiation, will cover the period 2003-2005 and are renewable.

In 2003, the communes af the area of Lubersac-SaintSornain-Lavolps and those of the Area of Tulle could also benefit from the installation of shuttle-buses to the local centres. Other areas of Corrèze are already interested and it will be advisable to study their requests and to integrate them, assuming that they correspond to the acceptance conditions set out by the development partnership.

Conclusion

Corrèze, small "peasant" countryside area in the centre of France, wants to believe that it will be able to continue its Project CREA (Creation of offers and innovating local services) and even to share it within the framework of the European network of cities and territories for conciliation within the European Community programme of the EQUAL initiative.

In addition to the example that we have presented, we plan to develop some other services this year :

- a baby-bus, a mobile nursery project set up within a mobile home type vehicle,

- an inter-generational support childcare programme,

- a home-care and emergency care service to be ran in shifted schedules for the women working over different times.

We also envisage a joint action with the Pelo prazer de viver - saude, cultura e vida (APPV) association by receiving trainers within our local services platforms.

We sincerely hope to be able to accommodate you soon, in our beautiful region, to show you our achievements and to share it with you.

See CREA in pictures

http://barbeyeuropa.jimdo.com/ue-fse-crea/crea-in-pictures/