Today a person with a long career in the configuration of European projects answers our questions. Enrique Rodríguez is the Head of the Department of International Initiatives and European Affairs of the City of Gijón, one of the two partners of Aych in Spain.
The City Council of Gijón already has extensive experience in European projects, what makes Aych different from the rest of the projects?
The AYCH Project has an aspect that makes it different and attractive and is that it works directly with people, with young people in our environment. This element makes AYCH a project that is close, direct and much easier to transmit. Sometimes European projects are abstract or excessively technical, but with AYCH we find a project close to the citizen. The beneficiaries of the project will participate in transnational meetings, training projects, and they will have the opportunity to meet other young people, as well as trainers from other European countries. At a time when the European project is being questioned, this closeness is, without a doubt, the most outstanding element.
Tell us briefly how you think Aych may be important for young Asturians.
One of the data that appears in the project is the high rate of unemployment among young people in the European Atlantic region, especially in Spain. Well, from Gijón we believe that AYCH can be a piece that contributes to the development of activities among young people that encourage the start-up of projects of a business nature. The interaction between the activities that are launched in the project with other local initiatives are very important for the consolidation of ideas that may arise in the Creative Transnational Jams. In addition, these projects could also have the European added value that any of the proposals resulting from all the exchanges and training that may occur during the life of the project may have.
The Atlantic Youth Creative Hubs project is aimed at young people from 14 to 30 years old. Is there a concrete profile of participation in the project and could you advance what is the closest thing you are going to do from the City Council of Gijón for these young people?
In our case we have decided to bet on the development of the project in the field of industries and services 4.0 in order to seek synergies and meetings both with other projects that are being developed in Gijon, and with local partners with whom we have been collaborating in multiple initiatives . Specifically, the collaboration with the University through two Chairs, Gijón Smart and Gijón Media Lab, is fundamental. The young people who participate in the AYCH project, in their Creative Jams, come essentially from this collaboration with the University. Throughout the project there will be more activities that will allow us to collaborate with other social entities and other profiles of young people. This is one of the strong points of the project. The diversity of young people who can participate in it.
