COMUNICACIÓN

Students from schools in Navalmoral de la Mata learn about the construction of Europe and democratic values during their visit to Yuste Foundation

Close to 200 5th grade primary school students from the following schools: Almanzor, Campo Arañuelo, Sierra de Gredos and El Pozón de Navalmoral de la Mata, will visit the Royal Monastery of Yuste and its premises during March in order to see Charles V’s Palace and attend a talk and videoconference on the construction of Europe and the future of the European Union.

These visits are framed within the project “La Unión Europea: una historia de valores y derechos humanos” (“The European Union: a History of Values and Human Rights”) which started off last year and whose main aim is to awaken the interest of students to know the meaning of feeling European; to promote respect for human rights and know about the European value and heritage.

Students and teachers will visit Emperor Charles V’s Palace to see the last retreat of the last emperor; they will be told anecdotes of the monarch and some details about the architectural and patrimonial heritage. The students will then visit the premises of the Foundation in order to attend the talk given by Miguel Ángel Martín, who is responsible for European Affairs of the Foundation in Brussels. The students will be given information about how important it is to belong to Europe, the work that European institutions carry out and how decisions taken in Europe may affect citizen’s daily life, during the talk.

Some 50 people, including students and teachers from Pozón School, visited Yuste last 14th of March. Campo Arañuelo School’s visit will be on Wednesday, 21st of March, where around 80 people, including students and teachers, are expected; and Sierra de Gredos and Almanzor School will visit us on the 22nd of March.

The project “La Unión Europea: una historia de valores y derechos humanos” (“The European Union: a History of Values and Human Rights”) is divided into several phases. During the first phase, the brochure ‘¡Vamos a explorer Europa!’ (“Let’s Explore Europe!”) and a map was given to the schools by the European Commission; the delegation in Navalmoral de la Mata of the CEPAIM Foundation then organized a dynamic and participative talk in each class about values, such as peace, equality and tolerance, including experiences of refugees and immigrants; the students then visit the Royal Monastery of Yuste where they visit the Palace and are given a badge and a flag of Europe. The last phase includes the completion of several assignments and a short video that may possibly be presented in September in a municipal facility. The phase concludes with an easy to read presentation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This project is organized by the Foundation with the city council of Navamoral de la Mata and counts with the support of CEPAIM-Extremadura Foundation, the schools in Navalmoral, National Heritage and Europe Direct Cáceres.