CITRUS / SOLIDARITES JEUNESSES EN MIDI-PYRENEES

web adress : http://citrus.asso.fr/

 

Citrus is the regional delegation of Solidarites Jeunesses in in the region Midi-Pyrénées. It is a non-formal education organization working in the international voluntary field. We are settled in a rural area, called "Quercy-Rouergue" in the South West of France. The objective and mission of our organisation are the concrete building of Peace in the World, through intercultural projects, voluntary collective work, life-long learning actions, and local cooperation for adult inclusion and cultural activities.

 Our main activities are :

- the organisation of international workcamps,

- inclusion actions with adults meeting difficulties in finding a job, through a social permanent workcamp,

- restauring an old farm with traditional building techniques for our future international hosting center

- hosting adult international long-term volunteers, promoting volunteering through European Citizenship, participation in local life, helping volunteers to build personal projects with a link to social utility

- adult education and training actions, mostly about both eco-building and culture (music, dance, clown...)

- local entertaining, working together with a network of local associations and the participation of our adult long-term volunteers in local social structures such as children leisure centers, old people's home...

 We also organize European and international projects around traditional music and dance :

These projects are carried out through different activities :

- European Youth Exchanges on traditional music and dance, with learning, practice exchange and reflection workshops, playing concerts and teaching adults and children, with results such as booklets on cultural policies for traditional music, DVDs with music repertoire created, videos on dances and pedagogy....

- Local dance and music workshops in our rural territory, stressing on the local development, both for adult non-formal education and promoting active participation in the local cultural programmation which is very important but sometimes difficult in rural areas

- A big folk dance and music Festival, called "Ecofestibal", with dancing concerts, music and dance workshops, masterclasses, artcrafts market, other animations for both adults and children. This Festival takes place once every two years. Next edition will be in september 2011, included in this Grundtvig project with the participation of our international partners to hold music and dance workshops from their countries.