“Walking with your eyes open/Balader les yeux ouverts”. Lower Aosta Valley (ITA) and Burgundy (FRA) compared

On Friday, October 3, 2025, from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm, the seminar entitled: “Walking with Open Eyes/Balader les yeux ouverts” will be held at the University of the Aosta Valley - Via Monte Vodice, Aosta. Lower Aosta Valley (ITA) and Burgundy (FRA) compared.

Conceived as part of the research activities of Spoke3 (Flagship Project TOEP-Tourism Open-ended Experimentation Platform) and the collaboration of the Aosta unit with the University of Burgundy/Dijon on the topic of itineraries for cultural tourism, the training seminar will offer local cultural and environmental tourism professionals a comparison between the proposals developed within the Spoke (toponymic itineraries and olive growing itineraries) and those that UniBourgogne/Dijon has developed in recent years (viticulture, forestry, outdoor and sports tourism, agri-food).

The goal is to provide Aosta Valley cultural and tourism professionals with interesting insights into a region (Burgundy) that, due to its rich identity in terms of not only historical and cultural assets but also environmental and economic ones (just think of its wine and the famous mustard), can truly represent a European benchmark in The theme of slow tourism is one that the University of Burgundy has fully embraced, becoming one of the four French national centers for agri-food.

The seminar will be held at the University of Aosta with a series of presentations by six speakers (see program below) who will alternate between 2:45 PM and 5:30 PM, followed by a final question time. Speakers/trainers will include members of the UniVdA group: Professors Gianmario Raimondi, Anna Maria Pioletti, and Aline Pons, and guests from the University of Burgundy/Dijon: Professors Laurent Gautier, Anne Parizot/Florian Kock, and Giuseppe Bisogni.

Participation in the event (also for the purposes of NODES certification as a training activity) is subject to registration. For registration, please visit the University of Valle d'Aosta website: www.univda.it/eventi-univda/

PROGRAM

2:30 PM Greetings (Rector, Councilor, NODES Spoke3 Coordinator). Introduced by G. Raimondi
Start of the scientific sessions: Moderated by Consuelo Nava
2:45 PM G. Raimondi, Walking with your eyes wide open: the DE-TOURS project
3:05 PM L. Gautier, Agri-food itineraries in Burgundy
3:25 PM A. Pons, Why places speak: ten hiking itineraries in the Lower Aosta Valley
3:45 PM Question time
4:15 PM Break (15 min)
4:30 PM F. Koch/A. Parizot, Forest trails in Burgundy
4:50 PM A. Pioletti, Olive growing as a resource for outdoor tourism
5:10 PM G. Bisogni, From research to the territory: the role of the Forestiers of Burgundy
5:30 PM Question time time and conclusions