International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James
International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James
The International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James was created in 1992 in order to advise the Galician Department of Culture on scientific and cultural matters in preparation for the 1993 Compostela Holy Year.
The key principle guiding the establishment of the organization was to select the most internationally recognized researchers in the field of the Way of St. James, some with close ties to pilgrims associations. In fact, several presidents of Spanish study centres and associations working in this area have been appointed to the committee.
The core role of the committee is to advise the Xunta de Galicia on issues related to the Way of St. James: itineraries, publications, educational institutions, conferences, exhibitions, magazines, etc.
Highlights among the committee’s activities over this period include:
- Providing support for the Xunta de Galicia, advising it on all matters relating to the Way of St. James: itineraries, publications, educational institutions, conferences, exhibitions, magazines, etc.
- Publishing dozens of scientific publications as part of the Xunta de Galicia’s Scientific Collection.
- Overseeing and organizing eight international conferences.
- Creating new projects and lines of research which integrate new technologies and the need to establish an increasingly stronger online presence.
- Publishing Ad Limina, a multidisciplinary, multilingual research journal on the Way of St. James, published since 2010 by S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo (co-published with Turismo de Galicia since 2016).
- Producing top-flight cultural knowledge and promotion in the members’ respective countries, disseminating the Xunta’s scientific publications, overseeing journals, theses and research on the ‘Jacobean phenomenon’ in their country and language, etc.
- Creating and maintaining study centres on the Way of St. James outside Spain, including the Centre d’Etudes Compostellanes de París and the Centro Italiano di Studi Compostellani di Perugia.
The Committee is nowadays composed by the following members: