Yuste, 7 April 2016.- The European Academy of Yuste Foundation has opened its Campus Yuste training program with the organization of the 7th Yuste Encounters on the Spanish transition to democracy, this year titled “Culture and the media in democratic Spain and their projection towards Europe”, to be held on 7 and 8 April at the Royal Monastery of Yuste, the headquarters of the Foundation.
During the opening ceremony, Juan José Maldonado, General Director of Vocational and University Training of the Government of Extremadura, declared that “the Transition was a successful and exemplary process in the eyes of Europe and the world, leading us to a strong democracy and, within a few years, membership of the largest project for progress in human history, the European Union”. Maldonado explained that the encounter will address the revolution in the media, culminating in “freedom of expression, which is one of the basic pillars of any democratic process”. In this regard, he added that communication is currently “massive and interpreted from different points of view”. He added that “during the transition, everyone did their bit to take the negotiations forward and we are now at a stage where we have to take those agreements as reference points and the media and culture must play an important role”.
The opening lecture was given by Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia, the former MEP and President of the Spanish Romani Union, who talked about the fear he felt on the day Tejero entered Parliament “as I was a socialist and a gypsy”. In his opinion, one of the decisive moments in the Transition and one of the most important experiences in his life was the creation of the Electoral Law, “due to the difficulty entailed by living through the death throes of the dictatorship”. For Ramírez Heredia, the phase of the Transition “was not a difficult time, but it was dangerous, so we should not lose sight of the efforts made in that period because I would say that words convince, while examples drag us along”, he concluded.
Mario Díaz Barrado, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Extremadura and the Course Director, emphasized that the current political situation is the result of “the generational change, but everything will return to normal and the institutions will continue to work”. In his view, what the Spanish should aspire to is “preserving the good which has been done and reforming what doesn’t work well”. The course director explained that the young people attending the course, students from different Spanish universities, are aware of the dynamics established in history between the old which refuses to die and the new which is not yet born, and “the nations, peoples and societies, which are very wise, are able to reconcile the above and not provoke splits which are later irreversible”.
The Yuste Encounters have addressed the stage of the Transition from different perspectives, including its international dimension and economic, social and political aspects. On this occasion we are focusing on two lines of work which are of particular interest to the Foundation, namely culture and the media. Moreover, the figures taking part this year include Gregorio Peces-Barba, Professor Ramón Tamames, the politician Marcelino Oreja, Charles Powell, Director of the Elcano Royal Institute and former MEP Alejandro Cercas.
The Encounters are being attended by thirty-two university students from the Universities of Extremadura, King Juan Carlos, Valencia, the Complutense in Madrid, Huelva, Salamanca, UNED and Warwick (United Kingdom), who have received board and lodging scholarships from the Foundation.
CAMPUS YUSTE
Campus Yuste is an event created by the European Academy of Yuste Foundation for its educational activities, based on encouraging debate and the reflection of students, researchers and professionals on European affairs.
