Campus of International Excellence – Aristos Campus Mundus 2015

In view of the success of the first event of this type, Aristos Campus Mundus (ACM) will be holding another edition of ACM Experiences: in-situ seminars focused on cooperation and social responsibility.  The sessions consist of practical, out of class activities, for students from the three partner universities. The purpose is to provide students with a new life experience.  This third edition was held in November, January and July in Barcelona, Orduña and Madrid, respectively.

Barcelona: “A Learning Community: Schools where people dare to dream”

The first activity was held in November, coinciding with the festivities of the district of La Verneda – Sant Martí in Barcelona. Learning communities is one of the educational projects that started in Spain and is having a high international impact through its successful educational actions. With more than 200 schools in Spain and 400 in Latin America, it has two of its greatest examples in Catalonia:  The School for Adults in the district of La Verneda – Sant Martí in Barcelona and the ‘Verge de Monserrat’ School in Terrassa.

The students who took part in this initiative attended an intensive seminar which combined theoretical sessions and participation in successful educational activities.

Orduña: “Youth for a productive and sustainable economic proposal”

In the second activity, which was held last January, the students from the partner universities had the opportunity to visit, meet and share a project aimed at empowering individuals in processes of economic sustainability, ecology and culture in the city of Orduña during the three-day seminar.  In addition, participants visited three youth businesses aimed at promoting initiatives for environmental and economic sustainability and heritage regeneration projects. Students could also share their own experiences as well as the activities carried out during the seminar with students from the three ACM partner universities and contribute their own reflections, knowledge, questions and concerns.  

Madrid: “La Ventilla: a district with a focus on integration”

The third activity, “La Ventilla:  a district with a focus on integration”, was carried out last July in the district of La Ventanilla in Madrid, a very particular area of the city. The characteristics of this district underwent deep urban intervention by Madrid Town Council a few years ago, but not its social reality.  In addition to being a popular neighbourhood, La Ventilla has long been a place of settlement for a large number of migrant population of diverse origin. Since the 1920s, when Jesuit Holy Father Rubio started his work with the needy population of La Ventilla, the presence of the Society of Jesus in this neighbourhood has been constant and grown steadily, and a large number of projects have been created over time.  

This third seminar allowed students to better understand this transversal work, which is deeply embedded in the social reality of the neighbourhood, to be a monitor for one day in the urban summer camp, and to share a few days with students from other universities and sub-Saharan Africans living in flats linked to Pueblos Unidos.