COMUNICACIÓN

Students and teachers from the schools: Campo Arañuelo, Sierra de Gredos, Almanzor and Pozón of Navalmoral de la Mata, along with the the Director of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, Juan Carlos Moreno; the Mayoress of Navalmoral de la Mata, Raquel Medina; the representative of CEPAIM-Extremadura, Luis Barrera, and the councillor for Social Services of Navalmoral, Teresa Nuria García, have presented the exhibition of the work carried out by students within the project “The European Union: a History of Values and Human Rights” today at the Cultural Centre La Gota in Navalmoral. The exhibition will be open throughout the whole month of October.

The sample of the exhibition, which consists of different murals worked on by approximately 200 students ranging from ages 10 to 11 from the schools in Navalmoral, explain what the European Union is, the integration process, the flags and languages spoken, as well as some of the most prominent monuments. The exhibition also includes a video where the students explain the work they have carried out in each mural.

In his speech, the Director of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation has referred to the students as “the future of Europe”, asking them, in the light of recent events and the current situation, to be the ones working to make “Europe become an exciting project, when you reach adulthood, -he said- don’t forget European values; what made us come together in a common project”.

The murals are completed with the children’s retrospective exhibition “Haciendo Europa desde la infancia” (“Constructing Europe since Childhood”), composed of a selection of 20 photographs kindly loaned by Europe Direct Cáceres.

“The European Union: a History of Values and Human Rights” started off last year and its main aim is to awaken the interest of students to know the meaning of feeling European; to promote respect for human rights, strengthen European integration through the promotion of active citizenship, as well as the promotion of debate as far as the construction of Europe and the promotion of European values is concerned.

The project is divided into several phases. During the first phase, the brochure ‘¡Vamos a explorar Europa!’ (“Let’s Explore Europe!”) and a map was given to the schools by the European Commission. In the second phase workers of CEPAIM-Extremadura organised a dynamic and participative talk in each class about values, such as peace, equality and tolerance, including experiences of refugees and immigrants. In the third phase the students visited the Royal Monastery of Yuste so that they –as well as their teachers- could see the Palace of Emperor Charles V. Here they given a badge and a flag of Europe and they attended a video conference with the Delegate of the Foundation in Brussels, who explained the European integration process to them, the functioning of institutions, the importance of being part of the European Union and how the decisions taken in Europe may affect the citizens’ daily life. To end with, the students worked on the murals in class, explaining their content in a video.

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