Our priorities
UXÍO NOVONEYRA
Open Culture
Poetry, literature, and the arts lie at the core of the Uxío Novoneyra Foundation. Through them, we initiate and support projects that channel the surging tide of creative ideas coursing through our world, while remaining dedicated to researching and expanding the literary territory of the Serra do Courel.
With the opening of Casa da Fonte in 2010, we established a distinctive cultural programme in O Courel, featuring guided cultural walks, poetry recitals, theatre, and exhibitions. Furthermore, since 2015, we have hosted the Dos Eidos Festival (Festival dos Eidos)—three days of avant-garde culture that enliven the village of Parada every August. The event belongs to LITFEST, the European network of literary festivals in remote rural areas, partnering with organisations in Italy, France, Ireland, and Portugal who share our passion for literature as a catalyst for lifelong learning.
We nurture literary creation and research through our publishing imprint and the Ámeto Mítico roving artist-in-residence programme. We also collaborate closely with schools and educators to foster creativity and artistic expression in the classroom.
The Foundation’s IthFunding working group develops tools for training, mentoring, and facilitating cultural projects—both our own and those of partner organisations—aligned with our core mission.
Internationalisation
Much of the Foundation’s activity is made possible through our ongoing work in securing EU funding and competitive grants across European programmes, establishing us as Galicia’s most internationally active cultural foundation.
Our expanding portfolio of led and partnered initiatives—several of which have been recognized as EU best practices—has allowed us to build an international network of strategic alliances. These collaborations foster synergies that advance our core lines of work while attracting talent and opportunities to our region.
Sustainable Tourism & Regional Development
Uxío Novoneyra was ahead of his time in calling out institutional neglect toward traditional rural ways of life and the severe depopulation threatening the countryside. Inspired by his vision, we at the Foundation believe that a different future is possible—one built on fostering a dynamic, diverse, and sustainable rural world by engaging in initiatives that open up new horizons for these areas.
A prime model for the preservation of traditional vernacular architecture, the poet’s ancestral home is now a House-Museum welcoming hundreds of visitors each year. The house also acts as an incubator for local development initiatives and sustainable tourism: public cultural programmes, interpretive heritage trails, workshops, and vocational training. This dedication was recognized by the Provincial Council of Lugo (Deputación de Lugo), which honored the Foundation in 2020 as one of the five awardees of the “Lugo Cambia” awards for regional tourism promotion and provincial development.
Through our work, we strive to establish O Courel as an accessible, meaningful literary and natural haven—a sustainable destination that creates tangible opportunities for its local community. In line with this mission, we participate in rurAllure, a Horizon 2020 EU-funded research project dedicated to mapping, promoting, and connecting rural heritage along Europe’s historic pilgrimage routes.
Environmental Commitment
Novoneyra’s ecological mindset is a vital, enduring force throughout his work. In Os Eidos, the poet immortalised his homeland by highlighting the deep bonds between nature and its people: an O Courel of wolves, bears, eagles, oxen, and farming communities that even then teetered on the brink of disappearance.
Rooted in this eco-poetic commitment, we uphold our responsibility to the land we inhabit by leading and supporting initiatives dedicated to preserving the biodiversity of O Courel. We also collaborate regularly with environmental organisations working across the region.
We joined the LIBERA Project (SEO/BirdLife) with a field study in our Souto da Rubial, securing its official listing in the Regional Government of Galicia’s Catalogue of Singular Trees (Árbores Senlleiras). We also collaborate with the Brown Bear Foundation (Fundación Oso Pardo) on the Life+ Courel Brown Bear Project.
The Foundation actively secures funding for environmental education and awareness initiatives, including the Erasmus+ KA201 Science of the Earth environmental education project, and the Empleaverde CONECTA 2020 and Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2020 grants awarded by the Spanish Biodiversity Foundation (Fundación Biodiversidad).