València Itinerary La Meridional

VALENCIA

restoring ecosystems & roots culture

WHY VALÈNCIA

València, is an autonomous community of eastern Spain. Occupies a long and narrow area aligned on a rough north-south axis along the Mediterranean Sea, which lies to the east. València has a strong identity, rich culture and history and a vibrant contemporary culture. Nowadays, this region, as many other Medi terranean areas, is facing challenges regarding clima te change adaptation, migrations and low birth rates.

This program allows us to experience how daily life in a rural community is in this part of the Mediterra nean. We will have the time to explore and unders tand how vulnerable ecosystems are recovering after the voracious and non-sustainable development during the 60’s as well as how to preserve them from the threat of climate change. Socio-politics is a fasci nating topic in South Europe, with a very active civil society. We will reflect on minority identities, the Roma people discrimination, migration crisis in the Mediterranean, historical memory and also youth concerns. Analyzing the powers and politics mana ging these conflicts.

Nature is always present during this program: rivers, beaches, forests, caves, starry skies, farms… Appre ciating nature is a big part of this program.

This genuine program breaks the stereotypes and allows the participants to gain Global Competence skills, values and behaviours through community en gagement and the Youth Leadership Curriculum.

València city

Homestay village

Beekeepers

Bird Sancturary

River inspection Olive oil mill

Sustainable village

Astronomical Observatory

- Mid Afternoon arrival in VLC Airport

Transfer to the Hotel

- Check In at our hotel and Refreshment.

- Orientation I

- Dinner and Night Circle at the Cathedral Square.

- Sleep in our hotel.

- Orientation II

- Old Town walk:

Walking in the cobblestones of Valentia, the streets in the Roman Empire: 138 BCE.

Admire the middle age architecture of the islamic Balansiya & the Valencian Kingdom: the golden 15th century, and the influence of the silk route.

The role of València in the modern age.

- Practice Spanish at the Central Market, Europe's largest fresh produce market. (Grocery shopping for a picnic in Túria park).

- Age of Enlightenment: How European Thinking shaped the western societies (interactive exhibition).

- Dinner and Night Circle at Torres de Serrans.

- Sleep in our hotel.

- Morning in the Mediterranean sea: Community Engagement: Joining a local NGO that works preserving beach ecosystems. Volunteering in beach cleanup as a tool to raise awareness about plastics in the sea and encourage more responsible consumption habits.

- Lunch & Beach time

- Curriculum 1: Leadership styles

- Focus on culture: Afternoon in el barrio. La Muixeranga, the Valencian Human Towers workshop: the art of working together for resiliency. Discover, appreciate and practice this ancient cultural expression in the Mediterranean coastal areas.

- Dinner and Night Circle at Benimaclet Square.

- Sleep in our hotel.

- L’Albufera de València natural park constitutes one of the most representative and valuable coastal wetlands of the Valencian Lands and of the Mediterranean basin. With an area of 52.000 acres, it is located just 6 miles from València City. It has been declared a "Special Protection Area for Birds" and "Wetland of International Relevance".

- Let's cook! We became MasterChef: two teams cooking the best paella ever in El Palmar: where the most famous Valencian dish was born. We will collect the veggies from the farm, learn about natural composting and irrigation systems. Cooking two paellas and other aperitives. The jury will decide the winning team.

- Sailing the lake by a Latin sail boat. The first representations of the Latin sail date from the 2nd century BCE in Greece. The traditional sail boat in the Mediterranean coastal areas.

- Guided by natural park technicians, we will learn about the ecological restoration process carried out since 2007: 98 acres of rice paddy were transformed into a set of freshwater habitats that function as a biodiversity reserve thanks to the process of improving the quality of the water that takes place in its green filters and lagoons.We will have the opportunity to appreciate the rich biodiversity of the natural park: birds, amphibians and reptiles, invertebrates, mammals, fish, marsh plants and submerged vegetation.

- Dinner and Night Circle at Chinatown.

- Sleep in our hotel.

- Morning travel: walk a chunk of the Roman Empire Via Augusta, arrive at the beautiful art nouveau València train Station and catch the train to our host village in the west mountains.

- Meet your host family and orientation in the village.

- Curriculum 2: Why are we here? in El Papán fountain.

- Focus on culture: Colombiculture. Hundreds of thousands of Valencian men and women, throughout more than three hundred years, have been practicing this Valencian sport in all the towns of our Country, which today enjoys great popularity. The sport of colombicultura consists of the breeding, training, release, coaching and competition of valencian sport pigeons. We will meet Santi, the youngest participant in our county of this ancient sport.

- Focus on culture: Community Leadership Challenge. Participants, in groups, navigate and explore the community solving challenges such as: making fresh goat cheese, interviewing community members, orchard hands on, valencian Jota dance steps, and more fun stuff.

- Evening Circle in plaza del Cerrito.

- Evening with your host family.

- Curriculum 3: The Culture Map. In Área

Recreativa El Cerretillo.

- Visiting an organic olive oil mill. Walk around the olive trees and learn about the different varieties. Taste and analysis of Extra Virgin Olive Oils produced right here, guided by María Dolores.

- Walking the medieval streets of Requena and visiting the storage caves in La Villa.

- Back to our host village.

- Focus on culture: Esparto workshop and local stories with Fernando. Esparto is a plant, from the grass family, which has been used since time immemorial to make all kinds of objects. It was always widely used to make tools and implements for agriculture and livestock, living its moment of maximum splendor in the 20th century, as a result of the two world wars. It is characteristic of the Mediterranean area, being found in countries of North Africa and southern Europe, mainly in Italy and Spain. This is because it is a very drought resistant plant.

- Evening Circle in La Glorieta.

- Evening with your host family.

- Community Engagement: Mijares. Learn about this rural socio-environmental project, conceived as a Center of Reference in Social Inclusion, Employment and Environmental Education, it aims to become a reference in Spain in the field of education, disability, mental illness and people in situations of vulnerability and social exclusion through socio-labour training, land stewardship, rural development and activities in the natural environment.

- Curriculum 4: Accompaniment and sustainable traveling.

- Stargazing in the Astronomical Observatory of the University of València. This is one of the few remaining dark sky reserves in the Valencian Land. It is a unique experience of contemplation and enjoyment of the dark sky, one of the elements of nature that is increasingly difficult to find. In it we can discover the grandeur of the Milky Way, the brilliance of thousands of stars visible to the naked eye, the layout of the constellations and their ties to history and culture. Know where we can find water in our Solar System; reason about the possibility of life on other planets; learn about the scientific contributions of female astronomers; know how to orient yourself with the stars and know some constellations.

- Night Circle and sleeping in the countryside hostel.

- Morning hike in the mediterranean forest in the community valley.

- Lunch with our homestays.

- Curriculum 5: Dive in Spain: socio-economic analysis.

- Reflection and journaling.

- Evening with our homestay families after Evening Circle at la Fuente de los Siete Caños.

- A full day with our homestay families in the village. Accompany them to their daily life duties. Maybe taking care of the orchard, and excursion to their crop field, maybe practicing sports or just hanging out with the neighbors and cooking a delicious lunch. This is an awesome opportunity to bond with our host and learn from them and with them. Gaining perspective and intercultural skills while we are immersed in another culture.

- Farewell community dinner & fiesta in Área Recreativa El Cerretillo.

- Evening Circle and go to sleep in your homestay family.

- We say bye to our homestay village and move toward the southern counties.

- Beekeepers for a Day: In addition to living an unforgettable experience in a hive, the aim of this activity is to gain awareness about the protection of all pollinators and their ecosystems. Show in a practical way how bees make honey and how beekeepers work. And teaching the secrets of bees, how they live, organize and work. As well as the diseases and problems that are currently suffering.

- Lunch by the natural pools of the Bolbaite River.

- Arriving in Vall de Albaida. This town is basically designed by and for nature with circular economy projects, local organic farming and local consumption. One of the pioneers in sustainable communities and responsible tourism in Spain.

- Night Circle and sleep at the village hostel.

SUSTAINABILITY II

- Explore the village: Carles and Susana will show us the eco water treatment plant, the compost plan, the art interventions in nature and many other projects that make this village a very unique community.

- Community Engagement: Joining the local association for a collaboration.

- Curriculum 6: Build your leadership story

- Night Circle and sleep at the village hostel.

- From the south, we will go back to València city metropolitan area. The Túria River Natural Park. Only 5.5 miles away from downtown.

A day in a Mediterranean river, learning the differences and similarities with your homeland ecosystems. As well as the importance of environmental responsibility for the conservation of our territories.

We will carry out an inspection of the river: it is a scientific methodology through which the ecological status of a river section is determined. Physicalchemical, morphological and biological indicators (capture and identification of macroinvertebrates) will be analyzed.

In the second activity called 'Who belongs Where?' We will talk about invasive species, and especially North American turtles. We will reflect on the responsible ownership of pets and plants in our homes.

Finally, we’ll visit the Nature Interpretation Center, to learn about the health of our rivers.

- Lunch in the city.

- Community Engagement: Advocating for Spanish Roma People. Meeting Estefanía, in the headquarters of the gypsy secretariat foundation in València. She will share with us the history, the projects and the vision of the biggest roma people organization in Spain. Roma people are the second largest ethnic group in Spain since the 15 century, and yet they are discriminated against in almost all fields in our society.

- Balansiya dinner: a night immersed in the Medieval Berber València.

- Sleep in our hotel.

- Curriculum 7: Sharing your leadership story.

- Rowing is a team sport that requires coordination, assertiveness and active listening in order to be successful. We will learn the basics of rowing in València Marina With María and Julio.

- Comfort food at the food courtyard by the Malvarrosa beach.

- Visiting the Oceanogràfic, the largest aquarium in Europe. After visiting the different habitats, we will have the privilege to go to ‘ARCA del Mar’, sea turtle recovery area, where we will learn about the daily work of the marine rescue team and even become part of it. In addition, numerous inhabitants of our seas such as stars, cucumbers and sea urchins are waiting for us, so that we can learn first-hand what they are like, where they live and how we can protect them.

- Shopping at Don Juan de Austria Street and final dinner at famous Peace Street in downtown.

- Closing Ceremony.

- Sleep in our hotel.

- Back to VLC Airport and flying home.