Our Story, Disinterested Governance & Territorial Roots
Founded as an official non-profit organization under the historic French Law of July 1, 1901, A CORDA unites cultural professionals, healthcare practitioners, and dedicated local citizens in a shared commitment to community well-being, creative empowerment, and social inclusion throughout Saint-Girons and the Couserans valleys.
Official Registry & Public Administration Credentials
Complete regulatory compliance with the French administration and regional authorities.
Legal Status as an Association Loi 1901
A CORDA is a legally established non-profit association governed by the foundational French Law of July 1, 1901, and the Decree of August 16, 1901. Our statutes were formally registered with the Préfecture de l'Ariège (Sous-Préfecture de Saint-Girons) under the National Directory of Associations (Répertoire National des Associations) with official reference code RNA W093005169.
Furthermore, the association is cataloged within the national directory of enterprises and their establishments managed by the Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (INSEE) under official identifier SIREN 938571239. Our registered administrative domicile and community center are situated at 47 AVENUE PAUL LAFFONT, 09200 SAINT-GIRONS.
Statutory Disinterested Management Mandate: In accordance with Article 261-7-1° of the French General Tax Code (Code Général des Impôts), A CORDA is managed on an exclusively selfless, unpaid, and disinterested basis (*gestion désintéressée*). Board members serve without financial compensation, directors do not receive dividends, and all membership fees and dues are fully reinvested in the association's public interest missions. The association engages in zero commercial trading, maintains no commercial product lines, and offers all workshops completely free of charge to the public.
Institutional Registry Dossier
| Official Name | A CORDA |
| Legal Form | Association déclarée régie par la loi du 1er juillet 1901 |
| RNA Identifier | W093005169 |
| SIREN Number | 938571239 |
| Administrative Head Office | 47 AVENUE PAUL LAFFONT, 09200 SAINT-GIRONS |
| Department & Region | Ariège (09), Occitanie, France |
| Supervising Prefecture | Préfecture de l'Ariège / Sous-Préfecture de Saint-Girons |
| Field of Intervention | Arts, Healthcare, Social Inclusion & Public Welfare |
| Pricing & Fees | 100% Free Public Access |
Founding Origins and Historical Evolution
The genesis of A CORDA dates back to informal gatherings of visual artists, acoustic musicians, and clinical care workers in Saint-Girons who recognized a shared, urgent reality: despite the natural grandeur and cultural richness of the Pyrenees, the citizens of our mountain valleys were increasingly isolated from communal cultural experiences and contemporary creative tools.
Particularly in post-industrial valleys where paper mills and traditional textile factories had closed over past decades, community spaces had diminished. Hospital professionals at the Centre Hospitalier Ariège Couserans noted that patients receiving geriatric or psychiatric care rarely had structured opportunities for non-verbal creative expression. At the same time, regional youth were leaving the valleys or experiencing disengagement due to a lack of local creative outlets.
In response, our founders decided not to form a commercial studio or private fee-charging academy, but an open, democratic association dedicated to the common good. After months of consultations with municipal authorities across the Communauté de Communes Couserans-Pyrénées, medical directors, and local educators, A CORDA was formally established with a charter guaranteeing permanent free access, strict non-commerciality, and multidisciplinary collaboration bridging the arts and healthcare.
Our Democratic Governance Structure
Transparency, volunteer integrity, and participatory decision-making at every organizational tier.
1. The General Assembly (Assemblée Générale)
The sovereign organ of A CORDA is the General Assembly, which convenes annually and includes all registered members, volunteers, and civic partners. In strict accordance with democratic principles, every member possesses one vote regardless of the duration of their involvement.
The General Assembly hears and approves the Annual Moral Report, reviews the comprehensive financial balance sheet presented by the Treasurer, and votes on statutory orientations for upcoming years. All proceedings are recorded in official minutes filed at our registered headquarters.
2. The Board of Directors (Conseil d'Administration)
Elected by the General Assembly for renewable three-year terms, the Board of Directors comprises eight community representatives including professional artists, medical practitioners, retired educators, and local civic leaders.
The Board meets quarterly to ensure that all ongoing field actions align with our founding charter, review institutional grant submissions, inspect vehicle safety for our mobile caravan, and maintain strict adherence to non-commercial ethics. None of the directors receive salaries, stipends, or personal benefits.
3. The Executive Bureau (Le Bureau)
Appointed from within the Board of Directors, the Executive Bureau manages day-to-day administrative obligations, regulatory filings with the Préfecture, institutional communications with the DRAC Occitanie and ARS, and financial disbursements.
The Bureau consists of the President (legal representative), the Treasurer (financial fiduciary), and the General Secretary (statutory archivist and public clerk).
Our Non-Profit Operating Principles
Four strict commitments that protect our public service mission from commercial deviation.
Non-Commercial Mandate
We never sell goods, courses, or digital products. All our public workshops, masterclasses, and mobile activities remain 100% free of charge to every participant.
Disinterested Management
Directors and officers serve on an unpaid volunteer basis (*bénévolat total*). There are no bonuses, profit-sharing schemes, or private dividends.
Complete Transparency
Every euro received from public subsidies or member contributions is documented in public accounting registers open for examination by civic authorities.
Equitable Access
No citizen is turned away due to financial constraints, personal vulnerability, disability, or lack of prior artistic experience.
Meet Our Volunteer Board & Field Coordinators
Experienced professionals from education, visual arts, healthcare, and community administration serving our common territory.
Élise M. - Volunteer President
Community Arts Pedagogist & Visual Artist
A resident of Saint-Girons for over twenty years, Élise holds advanced degrees in Fine Arts and Plastic Expression. She has spearheaded numerous participatory community murals across southwestern France. As volunteer President, she coordinates institutional dialogue with regional cultural bodies (DRAC Occitanie) and ensures that all programming respects our founding public interest values.
Volunteer status: Unpaid fiduciary officer.
Bernard L. - Volunteer Treasurer
Retired Public Auditor & Non-Profit Fiduciary
With thirty-five years of experience in municipal public finance and regional accounting in Occitanie, Bernard guarantees that every grant received from departmental and communal budgets is accounted for with complete precision. He manages our public treasury registers and verifies that 100% of all public funds directly benefit community members.
Volunteer status: Unpaid fiduciary officer.
Dr. Claire R. - Healthcare Liaison & Board Member
Clinical Psychologist & Gerontological Specialist
Dr. Claire provides vital medical and ethical guidance for our creative workshops deployed within hospital settings, elder-care homes, and psychiatric facilities. She ensures our workshop designs align with psychological well-being principles, respect patient dignity, and complement medical treatment plans without interfering with clinical regimens.
Volunteer status: Unpaid advisory board member.
Marc T. - Volunteer General Secretary
Secondary School Educator & Local Historian
Marc manages the association's statutory correspondence, preserves assembly minutes, and coordinates volunteer scheduling. Passionate about Pyrenean regional history and rural preservation, Marc oversees partnerships with local public schools to ensure young residents discover their cultural roots through creative storytelling.
Sophie V. - Mobile Caravan Technical Coordinator
Audio Engineer & Community Facilitator
Sophie manages the mechanical and technical readiness of our Mobile Creative Caravan. She oversees our portable sound studio equipment, portable ceramic wheels, and solar-powered demonstration tools, ensuring our outreach van safely travels across high mountain passes throughout the four seasons.
Our Public and Civic Partners
Collaborating with local, departmental, and regional institutions dedicated to public welfare and cultural equity.
Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles (DRAC Occitanie)
Providing institutional advice and regional cultural development frameworks to guarantee artistic quality and pedagogical rigor across our public workshops.
Conseil Départemental de l'Ariège
Partnering through departmental social cohesion, disability support, and rural cultural decentralization programs to support accessible programming for vulnerable populations.
Communauté de Communes Couserans-Pyrénées
Facilitating municipal coordination, public hall access, and regional logistics across the eighteen member valleys for our Mobile Cultural Caravan visits.
Centre Hospitalier Ariège Couserans (CHAC)
Hosting regular bedside and day-hospital art sessions for patients in geriatric, palliative, and psychiatric services to promote humanized healthcare environments.
Établissements d'Hébergement pour Personnes Âgées Dépendantes (EHPAD)
Welcoming our tactile modeling and acoustic resonance practitioners to stimulate memory, motor capabilities, and social interaction for senior residents.
Réseau des Écoles et Collèges du Couserans
Coordinating extracurricular civic expression workshops and biodiversity mural initiatives for children and teenagers throughout Saint-Girons and surrounding rural communes.
Are you a local community organization, healthcare facility, or school wishing to develop a free cultural partnership with A CORDA?
Contact Our Partnership Coordinator Explore Existing ProgramsOur Public Service Pledge to the Citizens of Ariège
A formal commitment to selfless service, territorial equity, and human dignity.
The A CORDA Public Commitment
Every member of A CORDA, upon joining our association or participating in our governance assemblies, adheres to our foundational charter of public utility. We affirm that creative expression is an intrinsic human right, essential for mental health, social cohesion, and democratic citizenship.
We reject any business model that transforms access to culture into a commercial commodity. We pledge that our services will forever remain open to every resident without financial barriers. Furthermore, we commit to actively seeking out those who are most isolated—whether through geographical distance in high mountain valleys, physical disability, age-related frailty, or economic hardship—and offering them a warm, supportive, and dignified creative home.
All membership fees and dues are fully reinvested in the association's public interest missions. Through rigorous public accounting, complete financial transparency, and selfless volunteer dedication, we serve the public good of Saint-Girons and the entire department of Ariège with unwavering integrity.
