The Estepona City Council will design new strategies to promote the social participation of foreign residents in the city.

The Consistory considers that the municipality is an example of coexistence to have neighbors from 135 countries representing 32 percent of the registered residents. The program ‘Sharing Cultures’, which this weekend celebrates the Days of Ukraine and Nordic Countries, will be reinforced.

The Estepona City Council reports that it is working on new municipal strategies that aim to further strengthen the integration of all nationalities registered in the city. The municipality has been consolidated for years as an example of social and cultural coexistence by having neighbors of up to 135 different nationalities that represent 32 percent of those registered.

“These people have chosen Estepona to live with their families, to work or to start their businesses. These neighbors have been here for decades and others have arrived in recent years, but they all have in common the affection they feel for this city that has known how to welcome them,” says the mayor, José María García Urbano.

Aware of the cultural and social richness offered by this conglomerate of nationalities, the Consistory wants to promote new actions that promote integration and in turn allow us to know the richness of these other realities from different areas.

Thus, the City Council is strengthening the lines of collaboration with the various communities of foreigners in the city to organize new events of interest, meetings with proposals and exchange of impressions and improvement in meeting the needs they may have. In this sense, the following e-mails have been made available to which such proposals can be sent: aleksandrab@estepona.es, dmohamed@estepona.es, andrea.ruoppolo@estepona.es, yanah.blancke@estepona.es.

The Consistory wants to highlight the altruism shown by these groups of foreigners at times when the help of all has been needed (food collection, COVID, DANA of Valencia…), while recognizing the collaboration of these neighbors in all solidarity events held in the city to address different social causes.

New activities of ‘Sharing Cultures’.

The City Council will continue and strengthen the initiative ‘Sharing Cultures’, a theme parties held in the city to publicize the cuisine, culture, crafts and art of the different countries that have a community in Estepona. This initiative has more and more popular support because, from a more festive environment, communication between neighbors of different nationalities and languages is favored.

Thus, this coming weekend will be held the Days of the Nordic Countries and Ukraine in different public spaces in the city. The councilor of the Extraradio area, Begoña Ortiz, said that this initiative responds to the City Council’s commitment to promoting cultural diversity and integration, fundamental values for the social and economic development of the city.

For the celebration of the Day of the Nordic Countries has had the collaboration of the Nordic Association of Estepona, which has organized several activities to be held on Saturday September 27 from 18:00 to 22:00 hours on the promenade, next to the monument to the Peseta. There will be tastings of typical Scandinavian food and drinks, crafts and entertainment for the whole family.

On the musical side, the Nordic Day will offer a varied program of performances with Scandinavian artists. Students from the Swedish International School will open the stage with traditional children’s songs. This will be followed by performances by Kjell Kläpp Eriksson and Susanne Preisler. The Camerata Sotogrande choir will also participate, and there will be a fun musical contest in which the public can join in and show their talent. To top it all off, last year’s favorites, “the King and Queen” Glenn Wish and Helene Wish Persson, return to delight us once again with their extensive and charismatic repertoire.

The president of the Nordic Association, Ulf Hedendahl, said that “this activity is a wonderful way to share our culture with the locals, and we are proud and grateful that the City Council shows its appreciation for the Nordic presence in our city and that we can organize such an important event together”.

For its part, Ukraine Day will be held on Sunday, September 28, also on the promenade. Starting at 12:00, visitors will be able to browse the craft market, which will bring together a carefully selected range of unique and handmade products. At the same time, family workshops will begin, where children will be able to enjoy activities such as artistic drawing and fun Cossack games.

At 14:00 the long-awaited culinary festival will begin, inviting attendees to savor a wide range of typical Ukrainian dishes and drinks in a festive and cozy atmosphere. The grand finale will take place from 17:00 to 21:00, with a grand Gala Concert featuring Ukrainian singers, dancers and artistic groups.

For her part, the president of the Prosvita Association, Valentina Bodnar, highlighted the “similarities between Ukraine and Spain”. In this sense, she pointed out that both countries share “very important features such as love for their traditions and the importance of the family”.

The City Council invites all citizens to actively participate in this celebration, which reinforces the vocation of Estepona as a cultural and tourist reference on the Costa del Sol.