| Europe Week in Kruiningen, 2010 |
KRUININGEN MEETS EUROPE & EUROPE MEETS A SMALL ZEEUWS VILLAGEForty young people and youth leaders from seven countries meet together for a week to learn how to build bridges and break down walls... This is not happening in a big city like Rotterdam but in a small village of only 3500 people, Kruiningen. In this quiet little village, people are not so used to the multi-cultural lifestyle of the cities and some are a bit fearful of a multi-cultural world. Kruiningen is a protestant village with four different protestant churches, some middle of the road, some conservative and some more conservative from the Calvinist tradition. Although few young people go to these churches, they are a main influence in this village and so during this week we also visit their churches and go to dinner with families from these churches to get to know them and their lifestyle. The village of Kruiningen is also unique because it hosts the one place in the province of Zeeland where the traditional folk dancing in Zeeuws costumes and wooden shoes are taught and there is even a group that goes out into the land to teach and perform this. It is located at an old barn called "ons Boeregoed" right in the middle of the town. During the week we hope to learn some of this traditional folk dancing. And we must not forget the windmill in town and the nearby dikes. These will be visited because they are unique parts of a Zeeuws village. But our main goal this week, of course, is to meet the youth of Kruiningen and involve them in activities that are planned. We have some great and interesting activities planned. Our four musketeers, the European Volunteers, Anna, Bogdan, Minta and Rachida are ready to lead these youth groups into the town. They have made most of these preparations with the help of Lu Walker, team leader from Harlem New York and Dutch leaders Sara and Lino Alberto. Some of the activities are for the 40 youth who are committed to all the activities of the week. We call this the "core group". Most of the other activities are for anyone and everyone to participate in. And we have some really fun games and events. So, if you are 14 years and older check out the week schedule below and join us in Kruiningen during the Europe Week. We will keep you posted with reports and photo's each day of the week as we work together to build bridges. Some key activities of the week:
The full program of the week can be downloaded here. A detailled program of the activities for local youth (14 years and older) can be downloaded here. Subtheme for the week: FAITH IS IMPORTANT! Besides the theme of building bridges and breaking down walls, we have a subtheme this week. In the week leading up to the elections, more frequently than in the past, the theme of faith and religion was discussed and agreed by all that “faith is important”. These were actually the words by the socialist party leader, Job Cohen, leading up to the elections early June. Well, we are taking his words and want to discover if young people in Kruiningen agree or do not agree.
This project is also supported by the Gemeente Reimerswaal
(our local regional council).  |
This exchange has been funded by the European Commission’s Youth in Action programme. The Youth in Action program funds and supports European projects for young people aged between 13 and 30 years old. The program aims to develop a sense of personal responsibility, initiative, concern for others, civic participation and active involvement amongst young people at local, national and European level.