Enthusiastic reception at Mayor Beuningen
This afternoon Huub and Adelheid Kortekaas and I visited the municipality of Beuningen to talk about the plans for the Walk of Wisdom. We were welcomed by the alderman of Finance Henk Plaizier and the mayor Carol van Eert. Their welcome was warm and enthusiastic.
The municipality of Beuningen would like to be more than a stage for a few strollers and cyclists. Located on the outskirts of the city of Nijmegen, they want to safeguard the old qualities of the region in the urbanized environment. They attach great importance to the historical source function and want to focus on sustainability, such as the new approach to the waste plant. The river and floodplains of Beuningen have a lot to offer nature and people and the gentlemen therefore welcomed the plan of the Walk of Wisdom with the Anima Mundi as the climax: they see it as an opportunity to let the potential of the municipality come out.
Mayor Carol van Eert also saw the opportunities for the region. The candidate pioneer path for the Walk of Wisdom (the Streekpad Nijmegen) coincides nicely with administrative partnerships. The values of the new pilgrimage route could be a connecting factor and also a stimulus for more cooperation with each other and with other parties outside the region (province, Euregion).
Both the alderman and the mayor saw opportunities for sustainable entrepreneurs in the region (e.g. providers of regional products or mindfulness centres) and cautiously suggested an idea for a possible pilgrim hostel.
In the discussion it was clear that the Walk of Wisdom is only a nice plan. In order to realize the plan, permission is needed to use the Streekpad Nijmegen as a pioneer path. The mayor promised to personally mediate in this towards the owners of the route (LAW foundation). Both gentlemen also want to discuss the idea of the route with fellow administrators and potential stakeholders.
In short: an extremely pleasant and constructive meeting in which both the opportunities of the plan and what is needed to realize the plan were discussed – that is mainly support and cooperation at the moment. Because no one can create a new pilgrimage route on their own.
