In 1991, the people responsible for the future Géoparc de Haute-Provence organized  the First International Symposium for the conservation of geological sites under the auspices of UNESCO.
Close to 200 participants from thirty countries took part and adopted, at the end of the symposium, the International Declaration of Rights of the  Memory of the Earth that has subsequently been known as "Digne Déclaration" .
This text, written in simple terms, highlights the intimate relationship between Man and Earth, and established a new heritage: the geological heritage. This Declaration has been translated into over fifty languages ​​and is still to this day, the cornerstone of all international policies which take the "Memory of the Earth" into account. 
With this Declaration, and without knowing it, the Geopark process was off and running !