Description
ARGE ALP, Working Community of Alpine Regions was founded on 12 October 1972 in Mösern, Tyrol, with the aim of helping to solve problems common to several Alpine regions in a good neighbourly and mutually cooperative relationship. It currently consists of the following members Länder Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg (Austria); Free State of Bavaria (Germany); Autonomous Province of Trento, Autonomous Province of Bolzano and Lombardy Region (Italy); Cantons Grisons, St. Gallen and Ticino (Switzerland).
As stipulated in the Community Statute, the member countries of ARGE ALP take it in turns to preside each year in alphabetical order. On 25 October 2024, the presidency of ARGE ALP passed from the Canton of Ticino to the Autonomous Province of Trento. The Province was therefore the entity in charge of planning, organising and managing the institutional activities of the Community until the handing over of the Presidency to the Land of Vorarlberg, which took place in Trento at the 56th Conference of Heads of Government on 24 October 2025.
The programme of the Trento Presidency was oriented towards giving continuity to the numerous activities and projects underway and committed, in particular, to developing the theme related to "Young people and mountains: life, work and business projects. Experiences of resilience'.
The Arge Alp 2025 Award itself was aimed at young people in the mountains to draw attention to the typical nature of our territories and to reward innovative and replicable ideas that offer young people new professional prospects in the Alpine regions.
One of the resolutions proposed by Trentino, approved by the Conference of Heads of Government on 24 October 2025, also addresses the same theme. Entitled "Youth and the Mountains: Policies for a future to climb", it addresses the problem of depopulation and the demographic crisis, proposing an innovative vision in which the mountains are seen as an opportunity and not a limitation. The Working Community undertakes to create integrated policies to make mountain territories more attractive, investing in enhanced territorial services (mobility, digitalisation, health, housing policies), in the creation of qualified job opportunities (research centres, coworking, hybrid training) and in the active involvement of the new generations in decision-making processes.
The second proposed resolution deals with the cross-border management of large carnivores. The approved document focuses on the need for harmonised management of large Alpine carnivores (wolf, bear, lynx), strengthening cross-border cooperation in monitoring and emergency management. The aim is to strike a balance between species conservation, the protection of traditional livestock activities and public safety, allowing flexible approaches that include the possibility of targeted interventions.
As the Province of Trento, we have also worked on the preventive management of natural hazards and disasters in order to be able to best implement the measures necessary to protect our communities.
