Workcamp>>欧洲>>西班牙 Spain
Who we are
COCAT is a catalan non-governmental and non-profit coordinating platform created to represent Catalonia’s international
organizations. COCAT is the link between the international and the national (local) levels of voluntary movement. Our work
camps are like sceneries of the global and local relations in the field of voluntary activity.
The aims of COCAT
- To develop work camps and voluntary service as a tool for personal, collective and community development, with the central values of interculturality, culture of peace, sustainability and social justice and equality;
- To represent and bridge the local Catalan youth associations organizing international work camps in Catalonia, with the international voluntary service movement.
Workcamps
Our workcamps are non-formal learning proposals for young people coming from many different countries and cultures.
Workcamp projects are a living way to share culture, supporting nonprofit projects and developing local community’s
traditions, promoting ideals of solidarity and citizenship.
Catalonia
All our workcamps will be implemented in small cities and villages of Catalonia. It is good chance for volunteers to know
more deeply our country, learn its picturesque landscape and traditions. Catalonia is situated in the North East of the
Iberian Peninsula. It has a territory of 32,000 square kilometres and around 7,500,000 inhabitants.
Catalonia is a European Mediterranean country with a strong personality and very motivated to enhance its customs and
traditions. The Catalan landscape is very varied: Pyrenean Mountains contrast strongly with coast regions, desert landscape are mixed to the most beautiful Mediterranean ones. The historical invasions and political conquests, gave
Catalonia the awareness to open its door to intercultural dialogue and to live together with the old tradition of Catalan
community and values.
The current administrative structure of Catalonia, after 40 years of dictatorship and denial of its language and traditions,
was defined basically by the Statute of Autonomy (1979, revised in 2006) and by the political institutions of the Generalitat
de Catalunya (Catalan Autonomous Government).
Language
The language of the country is Catalan, one of the groups of western neo-Latin languages together with Spanish,
Portuguese and French. However, everyone learns Spanish at school so there is no problem for non-Catalan speaking
visitors.
Catalan culture is a ten million people community, living in France, Spain and Alghero (Italy). Catalan is a living language
spoken in the everyday life, studied at schools, colleges and universities and used on radio, television and newspapers and most importantly in the everyday life of each person.
What do we do?
Amicitia operates in three areas: Advocacy , Formació n and Volunteerism .
The NGO DeAmicitia is a partnership with budgetary independence by using diverse sources of funding. Their accounts are tapped, loque ensures transparency, legality and social responsibility.
Advocacy services rendered to NGOs are priced at 40% of market value in order that they become co - responsible for the
costs of our work.
The remaining 60% is obtained from public and private grants, donations from individuals anonymous, in-kind contributions
and membership fees.
How did DeAmicitia?
Amicitia originally born as a result of the lack of environmental advice specifically dedicated to NGOs .
There are numerous NGOs conservationists working in environmental protection through public events and protest against
attacks on nature, but are ineffective when denouncing and go to court for various reasons:
Its members are not experts in environmental law and are often unaware of the rules.
Most specialized lawyers working for private enterprise.
The Spanish Justice, for various reasons, not always applied rigorously strict European standards.
Volunteering
We also think that performing volunteer activities on areas on which there is a judicial process prevents it fade away and
forget and offers the public a much more friendly and constructive face of environmentalism .
This is how we organize various volunteer activities with volunteers from around the world and manage to turn the
participation of Spanish volunteers in workcamps or volunteer campsdistributed by numerous countries.