The councillor for Social Affairs and Sports, Fina Santiago, has held a meeting with participants in the European Solidarity Corps (CES) programme, managed in the Balearic Islands by the government’s Directorate-General for Children, Youth and Families. These are some of the young people who are volunteering in Mallorca, Menorca and Eivissa this year, as well as some of the tutors and members of the organisations that are hosting them. The Director General for Children, Youth and Families, Marta Carrió, also attended.
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The European Solidarity Corps is a European Union programme that aims to create opportunities for young people aged between 18 and 30 to participate as volunteers or collaborate in projects that benefit citizens and communities throughout Europe. In fact, this year’s 10 participants in the Balearic Islands come from Spain, Poland, Italy and Germany.
The councillor thanked these young volunteers for their involvement in “projects in two areas of special relevance to the government, such as sports and the environment. An environment that all Europeans share and which, if it is affected in one part of the continent, affects us all. Likewise, it is important for the Govern to participate in European programmes such as this one and to encourage young people to be involved and committed; to facilitate the meeting of young people from all over the continent is to strengthen Europe”. Fina Santiago also thanked the entities that host these young people.
Today’s institutional visit is part of the first meeting of CES volunteers in the Balearic Islands, organised by the Youth Service of the Regional Ministry of Social Affairs and Sports with the aim of bringing together young people who carry out their projects on the islands and facilitating a space for exchanging experiences and realities. At the same time, the aim was to put the associations that host volunteers in contact with each other.
Three projects in the Balearic Islands: environment and promotion of sport
Since last February and until September in some cases, or February next year in others, three projects will have been carried out in the Balearic Islands within the framework of the ESC.
In Mallorca, the Son Barrina Association is hosting three young people from Spain and Germany for a project on environmental protection, reforestation, and the dissemination of permaculture and environmental sustainability. The volunteers carry out tasks on the farm (such as gardening, ecosystem restoration, energy and water management or maintenance of the facilities) and take part in collaborative projects with the association Jóvenes en Permacultura.
In Menorca, the Grupo Balear de Ornitología y Defensa de la Naturaleza de Menorca hosts four volunteers from Spain, Italy and Poland for a project on sustainable nursery and gardening, environmental education and communication and social networks. They carry out their tasks in the Wildlife Recovery Centre of Menorca and in the Native Plants Nursery. They actively participate in environmental education programmes, aimed at both schoolchildren and people with disabilities, and also carry out documentation tasks.
Finally, the Club Náutico de Santa Eulàlia, in Eivissa, hosts a volunteer from Italy for its sailing, swimming and canoeing activities, in which it offers support in sports training and courses, in the days aimed at schoolchildren (sports and environmental awareness), and in the activities aimed at people with disabilities. It also carries out maintenance work on the sports facilities and administrative tasks, and collaborates in sporting and social events.