AYUNTAMIENTO DE MARACENA

The City Council is the local entity of the municipality of Maracena, one of the most important cities in the Area Metropolitan of Granada (Andalusia/ Spain). It has a population of approximately 22,000 inhabitants, of which, just over 5,000 are young. Maracena is situated just 2 km from Granada capital, being one of the most dynamic and vital cities in the province, with an important history of citizen participation in the management of the municipality. It is precisely this awareness of citizenship with full rights, participatory and democratic, which has endowed the city ​​with a peculiar idiosyncrasy, where he has prioritized the struggle and the achievement of an egalitarian society, and the firm belief that youth educated in values ​​is a key priority for ensuring the wellness of our town and future of our society. We have a center designed to provide services for the specific youth population, it is called Espacio Joven. This educational institution is in charge of responding to the needs expressed by the youth group and promotes in a very dynamic way (especially through activities in and for leisure, and free time), the participation and information-training of young people while working to prevent harmful habits for them. We also have two centers specialized in offering services and implementing policies on Equality, such as the Municipal Center for Women and the House of Equality. The Youth Space and the Women's Center work coordinated for many years promoting education in values ​​and the practice of equality and solidarity between young people (especially through techniques and activities framed within non-formal education). There are therefore two basic instruments of our work, animation, and education in and for free time. Thus, the Youth Space encourages the participation of young people and groups, with a wide range of programs and activities of a very different nature and with diversified objectives. In all activities predominates the idea of ​​cooperation, integration, overcoming, etc. among the young participants, constituting a hallmark of their identity of them. Proof of this is the important youth and volunteer movement that the town. Our main objective is to address globalized youth leisure, in which a response can be given integral to the social and cultural needs of the youth population. Linked to this, an essential feature is to develop cooperation in the field of youth in the European Union. In effect, the Youth Space has as one of its priorities to involve all the inhabitants of the locality and promote active European citizenship, understanding Europe as a single area of ​​development. Therefore, we intend to promote and strengthen cooperation between states, share values ​​to achieve greater youth participation and greater tolerance of different cultures, in a continuously changing Europe rich in diversity, in which, and through programs like ERASMUS +, our young people can increase knowledge, promote initiatives, exchange of ideas, information and experiences, promoting social networks European.