The sociopolitical vision of Paul Elvere DELSART – Toward a participatory global governance.pdf

The EL4DEV program proposes a new rural social contract: municipalities would come together within a National
Grouping for Societal Economic Interest. United, they would become co-initiators and co-owners of structural projects in
educational tourism, agroecology, ethical housing, and culture.
This pooling of efforts and resources would give rural areas a strong political voice, attract families, young
entrepreneurs, and project leaders, and gradually foster a territorial renaissance.
However, the initiative would likely face resistance from Portugal’s traditionally slow-moving bureaucracy and the
skepticism of local officials unfamiliar with transversal or seemingly “utopian” approaches.
In the dry regions of the Alentejo — where intensive monoculture has depleted the soil — and in the humid valleys of
the northern interior, EL4DEV’s Vegetal Calderas would offer a tangible response to climate change and environmental
degradation.
These hybrid infrastructures — both restorative ecosystems, educational centers, and innovative tourism hubs — would:
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Regenerate soils and groundwater,
Slow creeping desertification,
And promote resilient, low-impact agriculture rooted in peasant knowledge.

Often viewed as peripheral within Europe, Portugal could become a quiet yet influential leader in Southern Europe’s
agroecological transition.
Nonetheless, this dynamic could face opposition from powerful industrial agricultural interests and be hampered by a
slow return on investment — misaligned with current subsidy-driven economic logic.
Portugal carries an ancient soul. In its azulejos, fado, maritime tales, and mystical poetry lies a popular and
metaphysical cosmology waiting to bloom again.
LE PAPILLON SOURCE centers, envisioned by the EL4DEV program, would offer a stage for this resurgence. There,
an alternative, interdisciplinary, and cooperative form of education would be developed — inspired both by local
traditions and innovative pedagogies.
Far from rigid curricula, these centers would emphasize:
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Experiential learning,
Intergenerational knowledge transmission,
And a secular spirituality rooted in nature and history.

Portugal’s cultural heritage would be brought back to center stage — not as museum relics, but as living vectors of
cultural diplomacy, contemporary creation, and intercivilizational dialogue.
This would shape a Portugal reconciled with itself — peaceful yet bold.
The economic model proposed by the EL4DEV program does not bet on quantitative growth, but on the richness of
relationships, know-how, and local cooperation.
In this vision, Portugal’s rural municipalities would become key players in a meaningful form of tourism based on:
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Experiential ecology,
Collective well-being,
And community-based artistic and artisanal craftsmanship.

Through a shared ownership model, the revenues from these activities would be equitably redistributed, reinforcing local
economic independence.