4. ACADEMIC REFLEXION AND PRESENCE IN NETWORKS
It has been stated that the path which the cross-border process must follow has not yet been traced out. It is a road which must be created step by step and for which it is necessary to count on the participation of all. For this reason the Cross-Border Agency feels the need to include academic reflexion in the work of the management and thrusting forward which it carries out on a daily basis.
There has been academic input on various fronts; on the one hand, in the years 2000 and 2001 courses have been organised jointly with the Summer University of San Sebastián, and during the 2000-2001 academic year, together with Eusko Ikaskuntza- Basque Studies Society, five days devoted to the following topics were organised: identity and the importance of citizen participation, juridical organs for developing cross-border cooperation, economic and social cooperation, historical relationships between both sides and territorial planning.
On the other hand the Study Centre for Public Services and Free Competition of the University of the Basque Country-Eusko Herriko Unibertsidatea developed a research project to study the juridical and operative viability of the setting up of Urban Public Services of an integrated and unified nature in the Eurocity.
Convinced that the constitution of networks or associations of cities are the indispensable steps towards improving the quality of the city subsystems, the Eurocity is a member of the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontaliére, the Conference of Cities of the Atlantic Arc and the Metrex Network.
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