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VALUES, through hiking and urban trekking, also intends to develop motor skills and transversal skills - such as observation and critical and logical thinking - to stimulate the desire to learn and that of constant research. Without forgetting the environmental component: the project will be useful in conveying to young people the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle, but also awareness of the environment around us and respect for the mountains, which must always be approached in safety. The direct recipients of VALUES are therefore schools, with teachers and students aged between 6 and 15 and resident in the countries of France, Italy and Spain. Schools will be offered an innovative teaching method through sport, applicable not only to history, but also to other subjects such as natural sciences, civic education and geography. The project will also lead to the creation of a network of experiences and a methodological manual that can be used by teachers across Europe.
The third meeting of the Values project took place from 24 to 26 March 2023 in the town of Annecy located in the French Haute-Savoie, even if a heavy snowfall marked the days The program - approved in the second meeting held in Reus - was implemented. It consisted of the transnational project meeting, the visits to the places of "Le Chemin de la Memoire" and finally the participation at the Official Ceremonies of the Battle of Glieres.
The day of 24 March started with the visit to Semnoz, locality Les Puisots, near Annecy, where there is a monument in the shape of a tower which recalls the massacre by the Nazis of five civilians, which took place on 15 June 1944. In addition to the massacre of human lives, the entire village, that had seen the presence of Spanish exiles in the previous months, was burned. We have continued with the project meeting and a specific meeting on the history of the French Resistance and the current phase, thanks to the presence of the President of the Haute- Savoie of the Association of French Resistants. The result was a long discussion on how today, in the absence of witnesses of the time, we can tell the events that happened over 75 years ago with school groups and the younger generations. The day ended with a visit to some places in the city center where some events took place during the Nazi-Fascist occupation and relative commemorative panels.
Next day was totally dedicated to the excursion to the locality of “Plateau des Glieres”, a basin located in the high mountains not far from the locality of Thones which hosted 465 maquisards in the winter of 1944 starting from 31 January. Here the first real battle between the French resistance and the Nazi forces took place at the end of March. The battle in the middle of the high layer of snow was particularly bloody on the day of March 26th. In the end, there were 129 maquisards who died, fallen in combat, shooted ,or died in deportation, to which must be added another 20 resistant inhabitants of the valley. Among the combatants there were 56 Spaniards exiled to France after the Spanish civil war and numerous Italians who in turn took refuge in transalpine territory to escape the reprisals of the fascist power. After visiting the places of the battle, the delegations were able to read the story and see the photos of the period, reported on the boards displayed near the “Monument National a la Resistence Des Glieres”. This monument, designed by the architect Emile Gilioli was inaugurated on 2 September 1973 and is a huge block of 385 tons of concrete. In the afternoon, in seminar form and with the help of some French teachers and trainers, various topics were addressed, also taking up some ideas discussed the previous afternoon and in particular the approach with the younger generations, the role of the school, the differences between school programs in the various countries, the use of resistance songs, group dynamics, accompaniment to places of memory both in the mountains and in the city.
The last day, Sunday 26 March, was completely dedicated to the official ceremony which takes place every year in the presence of local and national authorities, school groups and the population and a visit to the “Necropole Nationale des Gliere”s in Morette.
Here is the cemetery where the remains of 105 fighters fallen during the battle Des Glieres rest, including various Spaniards and Italians. A few meters away stands the “Musee Departemental de la Resistence” which arose immediately after the liberation of the territory, i.e. at the end of 1944, to which a new section dedicated to deportation was added in 1965.
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