The Star of the Levant

In an undetermined future, Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, ­Jordan, Kuwait, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey are the member States of the Community of the Levant since twelve or so years. Twenty-four experts chosen by the leaders of these twelve countries had secretly prepared its advent. How did they organize, articulate and develop their discussions and solutions? How were their plans defined, and then realized? Why did centuries of violence in the Near East come to a sudden end in a single night? What have been the consequences? A 'report from the future' to meet actors of this renewal who reveal hitherto confidential facts, and to discover some of the achievements of the Community: its earthquake warning centre in Ani on the border between Turkey and Armenia, its capital city on the Golan Heights, the Aquarius Project and the underground pipework channelling water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, an ecumenical dialogue centre in the Sinai, etc. And also an initiatory journey, inviting to wonder about the construction of the European Union. Translated from the 2nd French edition (2014)

Josquin Barre, the son of a painter and grandson of an architect from Nantes (the home town of the writer Jules Veme), feil in the cauldron of culture the day he was bom in 1949. This predisposition, usefully complemented by a peripatetic and cosmopolitan education, naturally inclined him towards further education and a career in the tourism industry. He worked in a number of roles including hospitality, and the planning and sale of travel and holiday packages. He then added communication- based jobs to the ränge of his skills, first as a joumalist and then as columnist in the industry's press.From 1980, anticipating major changes that would result from the merging of the information technologie and telecommunications, he became a consultant in tourismatics (a neologism that he invented) and in the fields of tourism organization, strategy and marketing channels. A Speaker and trainer, he is the author of the methodological guide Vendre le tourisme culturel, a benchmark publication for local govemment executives, cultural heritage managers, project promoters and event Organizers.