The European delegations participating in the EVEN Project, around volunteering and the role of associations, left the Marina Alta last Monday. Specifically, on Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th, Pedreguer became the recipient of 12 delegations from 10 countries, Lithuania, Latvia, Cyprus, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Estonia and Greece. The reason was the celebration of the European project EVEN. This project wants to deepen the debate on the role of volunteering in supporting small communities in a constantly changing world. It focuses on the role of networks and encourages new forms of civic and democratic engagement that bridge the gap between governments, local authorities and EU citizens. The promotion of active participation of citizens and their understanding of the policy-making process, opposing the feeling of passivity and incomprehension that often leads to negative propaganda and Euroscepticism.
And it is true that the participants were very satisfied with the program that the host municipality prepared for them.
On Friday afternoon, after having had a guided tour of the Jardí de l'Albarda in the morning and being received at the Pedreguer Town Hall, it was time to work at the Pista-Espacio Cultural, where each of the delegations contributed their experiences and their success stories, ending the workshop with the presentation of the work carried out by Ajuda'm (ASSOCIACIÓ de JUBILATS D'AJUDA AL MINOR) at the local level, AMADEM (Association for Mental Health Marina Alta) at the regional level and the Valencian Fund for Solidarity at the international level. The work session began with a conference open to local associations on European policies to combat Euroscepticism and on the different European calls for aid to volunteering. There was also an opportunity to try the pumpkin fritters with chocolate made by friends from the Saharawi people of Pedreguer.
Saturday morning was dedicated to talking about migration, exiles and refugees; There were direct witnesses from Carmen Berenguer, a 97-year-old resident of Orba who emigrated to the United States, and two women from the Pedreguer Saharawi collective, with a dialogue moderated by José Gayá, from the Mirades collective, who gave the documentary Encounters of exile, of which he is a co-writer.
Sunday morning, the delegations went to Pego, which is also part of another European project, TOPS, in which some of the participating countries participated, to end the day with a cultural visit to Valencia in the afternoon.
Their stay in Pedreguer has also served for them to try different typical foods from local establishments and to participate in different cultural events that have taken place over the past weekend.
