What an interesting trip to Catral, Spain.
September 30th to October 3rd 2021
Anastasija, Brandi, and Simon from Learning Hub Friesland were happy to participate in the kick-off meeting of Deal4EU, and to join the various events.
Our private bungalow at Alannia Costa Blanca
The day of arrival we checked into our resort bungalow, changed into our swimsuits, and quickly went to the beautiful swimming pool to enjoy the sunny weather. That evening we had our first dinner with the project partners who came from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and us from the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the partners from Cyprus and Montenegro could not make it to the Catral kick-off.
The next day we had a welcome meeting in the Casa De Cultura Catral auditorium. We heard messages of sustainability and green policy from a number of influential people:
Miguel Raul Alonso Gascon (Councillor for Youth)
Jesus Marti (Director of the Valencian Youth Institute)
Omar Anguita (Spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies for Childhood and Adolescence)
Juan Jose Vicente (Mayor of Catral Town Council)
Carlos Perez Fur (Product and Customer Experience Manager)
Angel Sallent (Anse Biologist)
Next each of the project partners presented their organizations:
Learning Hub Friesland (Leeuwarden, Netherlands)
Trial & Error (Berlin, Germany)
Social Hub (Sofia, Bulgaria)
DRPDNM (Novo Mesto, Slovenia)
VEGAL (Portogruaro, Italy)
For lunch we had a large meal with multiple courses, it was a lot of food. Then Raul, the Councillor for Youth, took us on a small tour of Catral. He showed us the City Council and the Parroquia De Los Santos Juanes (church) as well as other interesting sights. In the evening we went to an orchestra concert, then had a large dinner.
On Saturday we were taken on a tour of the El Hondo Nature Reserve. Parts of this park had once been cultivated for farmland, but now have been transformed back to a wetland habitat for birds. It is especially important as the home of endangered marble ducks and white-headed ducks.
During this trip we learned a lot about the participating organizations and especially the host city. We had time to brainstorm about the project and were put in work groups to discuss topics of sustainability and climate change. Each of the participants also got to plant a tree!
(click through the slide show)
Important information sessions also went over the parameters and project guidelines. We will have six events to send participants and one event to host participants of the Deal4EU project. Learning Hub Friesland is very excited about this opportunity and will be hosting in May 2022, coordinating with the BOSK festival.
Overall it was a fun project meeting and we are excited to include youths in the next events across Europe. It is a great way to discuss each countries ideas and actions related to sustainability, to give youths a voice for Green Policy, and to make new friends.
