Spain
participants
The forum aimed to address the following questions:
On the one hand, those related to the commitment of national youth to environmental preservation: What role does youth play in environmental conservation? The current youth of Spain has high levels of access to environmental information and is aware of the issues, but if this is true, why is it so difficult for them to participate in various associations and national environmental protection policies? Is something being done wrong? How can we improve?
On the other hand, those related to environmental conservation within the policies of the European Union. How has our natural environment improved since Spain joined the EU? Are we on the right track or is it just an illusion?
Our students travel to Villalar, a town in the province of Valladolid, with a bus sponsored by the town council.
More in detail, this activity, to which ESN Salamanca was invited and which included the participation of Esther Siero from the Social Impact team of ESN Spain, consisted of a series of presentations on the environment. As ESN Valladolid, we took the opportunity to raise awareness about our association and discuss our involvement in environmental issues, which generated new contacts for future activities related to the environment. Specifically, we were given a space named “The Future Citizens of the EU Speak” where, as anticipated, we gave a brief introduction about the ESN (Erasmus Student Network University of Valladolid). Following this, four of our Erasmus students shared their views on environmental conservation in their home countries. In this additional space, our Erasmus students gave a presentation highlighting the situation and work lines of their four countries of origin, focusing on the relationship between youth and biodiversity (the central theme of the forum).
Among the presentations, we enjoyed coffee breaks that allowed us to interact with the attendees and delve deeper into the topics presented. Additionally, we were provided with free merchandise, which was greatly appreciated by the students.
As a grand finale, we collaborated in planting trees and shrubs in the Las Pozas de Billar area (https://maps.app.goo.gl/NeF8qTsDK1nNjkZW9). This final part was the most anticipated of the day for the participants, as it was the segment where we aimed to demonstrate to society that the youth are actively engaged in all matters related to biodiversity and its preservation.
