From the six project ideas designed during this seminar, three of them were already submitted and approved.
The projects already implemented during last and the current year were: a Training course about Interreligious Dialogue held in Riga, Latvia, and a training course to be held in Moldova involving the local Moldovan and Ukrainian minorities communities, with the support of the Dannish organization. The third was a 1.3 Democracy project held in Wroclaw, Poland.
The final conference was held in Ananda Lounge (Rua António Joaquim Granjo, 4), and was open to the local community. This included the presentation of the final results of the seminar, discussion on the Youth in Action Programme and on the subject of the seminar - the dialogue between religions and different cultures. For this conference two guest speakers were invited: the President of União Budista Portuguesa, Professor Dr. Paulo Borges, and the representative of the Bahai Community in Portugal, Mr. Eduardo dos Santos. In the end of the conference there was an open forum for all of the participants to discuss some of the topics presented by the guest speakers.
As a Partner Building Activity for the Youth in Action, we believe this project was an efficient method of promoting cooperation among young people, which, given the actual and future projects European and Intercultural implementations, will not only strenghten European citizenship, but also European Identity. We valued at all time the importance of taking action to improve our local communities and addressing social issues, the importance of our working together as a part of the solution.
European identity, this bond of brotherhood across borders and several cultures, makes us all closer to one another’s reality, aware of not only what makes us different but also what makes us similar. Knowing, is the keyword - only fighting the prejudices caused by ignorance can we expect to develop solidarity and tolerance. Youth is Action is a terrific method for this, allowing the overcome of so many difficulties and making possible this kind of projects. Giving youth the opportunity to implement projects and ideas, we are effectively taking action for the promotion of social cohesion. We don’t just know we are closer to our neighbours, we feel it. Despite our vision only reaching the horizon, we know the gap between us shortenned. The unknown people living miles away revealed themselves just like us, often dealing with the same problems, often caring for the same issues, sharing the same passions.