The Consorci de la Ribera (CR) is a public body created by an association of two County Councils placed in the Region of Valencia (Ribera Alta and Ribera Baixa Counties) in the East of Spain which encompasses 47 municipalities and around 300.000 inhabitants.
CR aims to manage collaboration agreements with both counties in the field of socioeconomic development, integration of immigrant people, environment, cultural heritage, tourism and energy.
It is organised into four departments with around 20 people on staff, 95% of whom are university graduates:
Economic Promotion Department:
The main objective is to promote the economic development of La Ribera through the creation and business consolidation and from the regularisation of the labour market, favouring the insertion of all the people willing to gain access to a job in conditions of equality. It coordinates the PATER (Territorial Pact for Employment in La Ribera), an agreement signed by public entities, trade unions and business organisations in the territory, to promote employment. It holds the Quality Management System ISO 9001:2008 on training and coaching unemployed people, enterprises, entrepreneurial consultancy and job placement.
Environmental Education Department (EED):
Its main goal is to contribute to the sustainable development of La Ribera and favour a low-carbon economy. Education and citizen participation are vital to reduce the environmental impact of all actions produced by society. The activities are focused on training Courses on RES, EE and energy saving in Buildings, companies and schools, citizen awareness and educational programs, sustainable mobility and sustainable tourism.
Tourism department:
The aim is to set up joint actions among all the stakeholders implied, that means SMEs and municipalities, to promote a touristic product with a clear regional identity based on cultural, architectural, gastronomic and natural resources of the Ribera.
Energy Department:
Its objective is to implement an energy-saving culture, through the use of endogenous energy resources and renewable energy as well as a contribution to sustainable development. The fields of intervention are actions that lead to energy saving and projects to promote renewable energies and energy efficiency.
The main economic activity in La Ribera is agriculture, with crops such as citrus fruits, rice, persimmons and honey. The region also has industry, much of it related to the agri-food sector and tourism, as a source of employment and wealth for the area. The participation of the CR in the DIGIFABS project, through the Department of Economic Promotion and Environmental Education, will help SMEs and entrepreneurs in La Ribera in their digital transformation, especially those in the agri-food sector. Moreover, the outcomes will be disseminated through the stakeholder network and the educational material will be used to train unemployed people, promote entrepreneurship and boost the employment rate.
