OUR BELGIUM TEAM

Front row from left to right: Ann Gheeraert, Deputy Mayor for Nieuwpoort – Michelle Martens, Head of Tourism for Nieuwpoort – Valérie Heyman, regional manager Westhoek for Westtoer

Second row from left to right: Stephen Lodewyck, Westtoer – Peter Slosse, Head of Tourism for Ypres – Peter Verplancken, Museum of the Yser – Stefaan Gheysen, general director Westtoer – Peter Mouton, Museum of the Yser – Peter Demarée, Head of Tourism for Diksmuide

Not in the picture, but also part of partners: Lies Laridon, Mayor of Diksmuide – Diego Desmadryl, Deputy Mayor for Ypres

Participating as the French charity Af3v alongside the British Foundation Western Front Way to make the dream of the Scottish soldier AD Gillespie a reality, means creating a real green corridor where the blood of the fallen sacrificed from here and elsewhere was shed over 100 years ago in Western Europe. It is also to pay tribute to them and, for me, to remember the humanist impulse to build a better world and lasting peace that inspired the founders of the Council of Europe. The Western Front Way – Via Pax is thus, beyond the many miles of greenway to be built, a journey for individual and collective resilience for a lasting understanding between peoples in a sustainable world. For peace is like a bicycle, if you stop pedaling, it falls off.

SONIA CARITU ARFARAS

AF3V

We are living through a time of unseen challenges to liberal democracies. Trust in institutions is declining, social polarisation and a constant stream of disinformation are tearing us apart. Europe’s architecture is challenged by opposing forces. The witnesses who have survived the human catastrophe of WWII are leaving us. Who will remind us that democracy and peace between neighbors can never be taken for granted? We need to find new ways to remember that peace will always be a path and a process that requires our commitment, our willingness to be on the road, to overcome hurdles, to take each other along. In that sense, the Via Pax is offering a unique opportunity for Europeans and people from other nations to come together. I hope that parents and children of all nations will make these hikes a family tradition to pay their respects to those whose lives ended way too early and who weren’t as blessed as we are despite all the challenges that we must face. May The Western Front Way inspire cities from across Europe to revive their partnerships, to meet on the road and walk towards the same goals again: peace, freedom, democracy, human rights and a joint vision for a united Europe.

HUBERTA VON VOSS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ISD GERMANY