M. J. Cruzado
Three students from the Swedish school in Fuengirola are encouraging local businesses to help organise a gala to promote integration
Sofía Martínez, Gordana Rakovic and Kanar Mahmud are urging the whole of Fuengirola to get involved in a multicultural gala they are organising to boost the integration of young foreigners. The initiative is being supported by the Youth Department at the Town Hall, which has granted use of the Palacio de la Paz - with a capacity for 1,500 people - for the event due to take place on April 12th. The Colegio Sueco (Swedish School), is also supporting the project, and the school’s head of Spanish, Elvira Herrador, is tutoring the girls to make sure their ambitious project gets off the ground.
The gala, which is to feature music and dance acts yet to be announced, is in fact the three students’ end-of-year project. They are in the third form of Gymnasium, which is the equivalent of the second year of the Spanish ‘Bachillerato’. Nevertheless, what started out as a class exercise has become a project of great social importance and has several private sponsors. To raise funds, the students have put two thousand wristbands on sale at a euro each and have organised a lottery, the prizes of which include products and vouchers to be donated by participating small businesses.
The girls are now looking for more sponsors, not only to finance the event, but also to enable them to donate money to a local NGO which boosts multicultural integration.
“We teach them to avoid stereotypes and to learn and enjoy Spanish traditions. We also help them to develop ventures such as this,” explains Herrador.
The students plan to finish the project with a study on the integration of young foreigners in Fuengirola, and will carry out surveys in different schools. Sofía Martínez is hoping to “fill the Palacio de la Paz” on April 12th, and promises an evening of fun for all the young people wanting to attend.
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