Asociación de Universidades Populares de Extremadura - AUPEX

AUPEX was born in 1992, as a non profit organisation gathering over 210 folk-high-schools, most of them located in rural areas. The organization develops a variety of lifelong learning projects in the field of culture, environment, art, languages, democratic values, citizen participation and, particularly, digital and social inclusion. AUPEX plays an essential role in the lifelong learning of those who live in rural areas and marginal neighbourhoods, focusing on social-labor inclusion and citizen participation, especially through digital skills enhancement. Thus, AUPEX contributes to a better society, creating the conditions for the equal opportunities among citizenship and empowering people in a changing and challenging context, in order to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive development. The organization manages the Digital Literacy Programme of Extremadura, implemented in over 75 digital competence centres across the region -reaching over 29.000 users every year-. The Digital Literacy Programme implements digital inclusion-related training actions so that unemployees, minorities, youngsters and groups in risk of exclusion can find an opportunity for their social inclusion and improve their employability. AUPEX also develops different projects in the field of art and culture, in order to value cultural heritage, boost the enrichment of cultural offer, and guarantee universal access to culture. Critical thinking, open dialogue, interculturality, artistic expression, inclusion and personal development are part of the AUPEX’ foundations, considering culture in the base of social cohesion. AUPEX operates mainly at local and regional level, although the organisation has extensive experience in international cooperation and participates actively in different international associations.