«Current translation pending review – For demonstration only».
At the invitation of Europe’s House in Gavleborg, Sweden, the House of Europe in Rhodes participated in a program of speeches on trends in economic growth, increasing extremism and how different countries perceive united Europe. The two speeches were held on 24 August 2015 in Bollnas and 25 in Sandviken.
The House of Rhodes was represented by its President, Michalis Kavouklis, with Karsten Lucke, Director of the House of Europe in Bad Marienberg, Germany, and a member of the Board of Directors. the European Network for Education and Training, EUNET, and Yoomi Renstrom, a member of the Gavleborg Region and a member of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local Government Conferences.
Dominant issues in speaker positions and lively discussions with the public were the issue of Europe’s economic situation, not so much after the economic crisis but with the new challenge of immigration. The common position of all the speakers was that Europe must act directly and coordinated to manage the issue. Conclusion on each individual issue was that the most viable solution is most Europe, ie the decisive promotion of European integration at the political level and the exodus from the economic perception that has been going through the process in recent years.
Alongside the two keynote speeches, there were numerous meetings with local actors and visits to cultural and educational venues, as well as pioneering businesses.
Of particular importance was the one-hour meeting with the Mayor of Sandviken, Monica Jacobsson, in which the Mayor described the strategies followed by the city, especially after the great consultation that took place in 2013 with the aim of shaping the municipal objectives for 2020, when the city decided to open the world through active partnerships and extroversion actions. The President of the House, Michalis Kakouclis, seized the opportunity and described the corresponding process in which Rhodes is in the process of claiming the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2021. The Mayor was positive about this effort and even declared open to co-operation with Rhodes if there is a proposal from the side of the Candidate Office.
Rhodes’ candidacy for 2021 was a key element for cooperation with the ABF, Sweden’s largest independent educational organization, with activities in (eg Estonia, Moldova, Albania) and outside Europe (eg. Namibia, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua), which through adult education promotes democratic principles, human rights and international cooperation. As the House of Europe in Rhodes has assumed the responsibility of coordinating Rhodian civil society to find international partners to implement programs under the Rhodes 2021 candidacy, both ABF and the House of Europe in Gavleborg, committed themselves to helping and helping both locally and internationally. A similar commitment to support was given to the House of Europe in Bad Marienberg.
Finally, the three Houses of Europe (Galveborg, Bad Marienberg, Rhodes) committed themselves to further strengthening their relations, which ideally combine the North, the Center and the South of Europe to implement joint actions. Already there is a program for young people with the participation of the three countries, but also of a non-EU country, which aims to formulate perspectives and vision for the United Europe of young people from the four countries through the interaction between as well as with the local communities and institutions they will visit.