DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION IN CAMBRILS: CAMBRILS TO THE WORLD

Cambrils Ciutat Solidaria in English: article by Oliver Klein Bosquet
Cambrils Ciutat Solidaria is the body of citizen participation, promoted by Cambrils council and the town's organised civil society, that serves to cooperate with, help and invest in direct solidarity and aid in those countries in the so-called Third World.

The Council was founded in 2003 and is currently made up of representative of municipal political groups and over 20 Development NGO's that have their headquarters in the town.

The three lines of finance for aid projects managed by the Cambrils Council Aid Representative, together with Cambrils Solidaria (which jointly represent 0'7% of the town's budget) are: DNGO aid projects in the South, awareness raising projects and emergency projects.

The Cambrils Council Aid Representative annually calls for economic aid destined to promote the involvement of the youth of Cambrils in the celebration of "solidarity trips" in countries in the South with the aim of carrying out aid projects stablished by DNGOs connected to Cambrils Solidaria.

In this way, youg volunteers have the opportunity to learn, get to know and become aware of different realities, while the DNGOs in question receive the help and social support of members interested in the values of solidarity.

Likewise, Cambrils cooperation, through Cambrils Solidaria, can approve various grants fort students of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili's (URV) Masters in International Cooperation, The share of the cost of the grants is similar to with the Young Volunteers. It is a condition of the scheme that the recipients are members or collaborate with one of the NDGOs or projects to which the council in question contributes.

Three of the projects which are specially noteworthy and in which Cambrils volunteers work all year are: the promotion of a culture of peace, fair trade and human rights. It employs the town's broad educational network in order to have and effect on the thinking and values of the youngest minds in our society.

We have an obligation, as administrators of Cambrils' residents' money invested in solidarity with the poorest countries, to explain to our population and anyone else who is interested, our work, via articles like this one, or in occaional publications such as Cambrils to the World specifically dedicated to our cooperation in local development.

(Oliver Klein Bosquet, ONGC 42, Summer 201O)