Project Planning and Information

The project consists of youth participation in the field of being member of the European Union and being conscious of self citizenship by getting active in social life according to being youth. The idea is to identify European partnerships, to try to answer questions such as `what does it mean to be active in society?´ `How can I take part in society life not only on local level but as well on an international, European level?´ We would like to identify what European identity means to us. We will involve disabled people from Ribadavia into this project to experience the opportunity that being disabled does not mean being excluded in social active live. As we are willing to touch our self-participation, we want to exchange the ideas and share the experience with young people from other countries, respecting differences between us.

The objectives

The aims of the project that we want to achieve are:

•   increasing the implementation of youngsters in civil life;
•   exchanging ideas about being European from different points of view (new and old members of EU, from diverse social, cultural and traditional backgrounds);
•   starting a process of building a better European future

The activities

This youth exchange will focus on the development of activities related to the theme of the project and also its objectives. It will therefore include:

• workshops organised in order to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experience of the participants in the field of European identity.
• intercultural evening focused on the presentation of various elements representing the cultures of the groups participating in the exchange.
• informal activities and visits in the Ribeiro region because it is important that the participants get in touch with the local, natural and cultural heritage and visit Santiago de Compostela to discover the historical side of Galicia.

Location

Galicia is situated in the northwest of Spain and looks very different from the rest of the country. The first people to live here were the Celts, just like in Brittany and Ireland . Landscapes are very green, with lots of hills and streams. Most of the locals speak Gallego, a co-official language with Castilian (standard Spanish). The Gallegos are very welcoming people, somewhat shy at first but very interested in other cultures.

Ribadavia , the capital of O Ribeiro,is situated between the cities of Vigo and Ourense, 30 km from the Portuguese border and 40 minutes from the Atlantic coast. The town has a long history of wine-making and Ribeiro is one of the oldest ‘Denominations of Origin’ in Spain, and much of the town centre was declared a national heritage site in 1947, along with many buildings dating from before the 16 th century when the town was an important Jewish centre. It is situated on the banks of the River Avia, from which it gets its name, and is surrounded by a network of low-lying mountains and valleys terraced with vineyards.

Today, Ribadavia and its immediate area has a population of about 7000 people. Its economy still very much revolves around the production of wine, and Ribeiro wine is recognised as one of the best young wines within Spain itself. The town also has a growing tourist industry, supported by government grants for the renovation of the town centre and its famous castle, as well as the annual ‘Festa da Istoria’, a day of medieval festival which attracts visitors from all over Europe .

For more information, see the town’s web pages: http://www.ribadavia.com/ and http://www.ribadavia.net/ as well.