3rd Workshop in Mérida (Spain). Report (4 of 5)

Ms. Marta Maia, who was making a postgraduate study in translation and multilingual communication (University of Porto), had spent eight months of that Master at the Cross border Initiatives Office of the Regional Government of Extremadura. She pronounced the fourth conference of the workshop, entitled Portugal in the cultural policy of Extremadura. She talked about her different experiences studying and working in several European countries, and mentioned the prejudices she had about Spain and Spanish people. Spain and Portugal have shared a frontier, but the size of both countries with common History, as United Kingdom and Ireland for example, makes the big country to ignore the small one. She had the opportunity of working in Spain, in a border region, at the institution which rules everything related to Portugal and cross border cooperation. The old image has changed and this region is showing a real interest for Portugal. In fact there are many people interested in Portuguese culture and thousands of people learning the language. She also explained the role of Portugal in the cultural policies carried out by the Regional Government of Extremadura. In short, it can be said that Portuguese culture has become a very important branch of the cultural policies of Extremadura in the last 20 years.

Ms. Pruden Gutiérrez, teacher of Didactics at the University of Extremadura, pronounced the fifth conference of the workshop. In her speech entitled Coming back to school: Senior University, she explained one of the most successful projects dealing with lifelong learning activities, which has received the most important award given in the region (The Medal of Extremadura).

In her speech Ms. Gutiérrez stated that population over 65 years has been growing and will continue in the current century. The old age population, until recent times, had been studied from a negative point of view, but today there are many institutions and sciences studying seriously this growing population.

Culture, knowledge and lifelong learning are elements that cannot be far from elderly people and the University has to play a very important role. It is necessary to overcome old conceptions that identify university only with teaching official studies.

With this programme the University of Extremadura aims to give education to a higher number of citizens with a main purpose: satisfying wishes to learn just for pleasure and enjoying the leisure training. It is a way to widespread culture as a source for cohesion, solidarity and democracy.

The program has been developed in seven different locations in Extremadura, with more than 4000 students and more than 150 teachers participating since it began in 1998. Among the activities offered to the students every course, Portuguese Language and Culture has been one of the most successful workshops in the last years.