The LADDER International workshop on Public-Private Cooperation (PPC) and Sustainability took place in Cagliari from 12 to 14 July 2017. Co-organized by the European Movement in Italy (CIME – coordinator of the PPC Thematic Path) and by the Sardinia Region, the workshop’s main objective was to revise the properties of the tourism industry with regards to governance. As expected, the tourism sector requires an accurate cooperation model between different stakeholders and this can be considered especially true when taking into account the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of SDGs.

Within the workshop, high level discussions concerning the tourism industry’s role in implementing SDGs were implemented. Particularly, experts such as Mr. Fabio Masini (CIME), Mr. Natale Giordano (Standing Committee for the Euro Mediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities – COPPEM) and Ms. Floriana Coppoletta (Standing Committee for the Euro Mediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities – COPPEM) intervened on this topic. The high-quality input of these speeches emphasized critical issues and opportunities for PPC in sustainable tourism. During the 2-day event there has also been an open debate about specific value chains in tourism – the discussion identified the role of PPC and of the Mediterranean European Neighbourhood Instrument Cross-Border Cooperation (ENI CBC Med) as essential in fostering these chains. Insights and suggestions for further work were provided by Mr. Antonello Chessa (Regional Center for planning – Sardinia Region) who actively participated in these sessions who were moderated by Mr. Pier Virgilio Dastoli (President of CIME). Finally, the workshop benefited also from the expertise of panelists such as Mr. Gilles Berhault (MedCop Climate), Mr. Marco Boaria (ALDA) and Mr. Raymond Van Ermen (European Partners for the Environment).

Time has also been spent on informal project planning/designing/management, using participatory tools to develop project ideas through the Goal Oriented Project Planning (GOPP) approach. This important part of the workshop provided the participants with mechanisms and know-how regarding successful implementation of projects.

The representative of CIME and the participants declared that the results of the workshop were extraordinary and far beyond expectation. The participating organizations and local actors testified a strong interest and commitment to work together in the future. A strong interest in contributing to the implementation of the SDGs and to increase sustainable tourism through a multilayer & multi-stakeholder approach was stressed.