EUROPE/SPAIN - Second National Encounter of “Education for Citizenship” Objectors: thousands of families stand firm in defense of their rights and their children's education

Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – Representatives from 60 platform groups of parents objecting to the course “Education for Citizenship” (EpC) will meet on February 28 in Pozuelo de Alarcon (Madrid), in the Second National Encounter of Objectors to EpC, an encounter that has been highly anticipated following the Supreme Court decision, whose actual content remains unknown. The Encounter will be a family fest with the theme: “A matter of freedom.”
Organized by Professionals for Ethics and the State Confederation of Educational Centers (CECE), the Encounter is also being sponsored by the platform group “Hazteoir.org” and will be attended by 60 platform and parent groups of objectors from all over Spain. Several of the special guests include: Maria Rosa de la Cierva (member of the State School Council), Jaime Urcelay (President of Professionals for Ethics), Isabel Bazo (CECE), Benigno Blanco (President of the Spanish Family Forum), Luis Carbonel (President of the CONCAPA), Alfredo Dagnino (President of the “Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU”), and Ignacio Arsuaga (President of HazteOir.org).
Over the course of the day, there will be talks given by lawyers, parents, and representatives from objector's platforms from all over Spain. There will also be an awards ceremony for the presentation of the 2008-2009 Freedom Awards to eleven entities and persons, in acknowledgment of the constancy, enthusiasm, and spirit of sacrifice of thousands of families who are standing firm in defense of their rights and their children's education.
A new addition this year are the workshops and activities that will be available for student objectors (high school and middle school ages). “It is very enriching for the youth to explain their reasons for objecting,” said Leonor Tamayo, event coordinator. “It is a use of their citizenship and an act of maturity that will help them in the future.”
Leonor Tamayo hopes that there will be at least a thousand objectors attending the event, which is open to the entire movement in Spain and Portugal. Parents from Panama, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Canada, and France have also joined the movement.
“The Supreme Court ruling has not resolved the EpC matter,” Tamayo said. “We're going to continue working, harder than ever. The battle continues until a victory is reached, and this victory is still worth fighting for. However, it is not only a battle in the courts. We have to make it an issue in society. The enthusiasm, the willpower, and the strength of the parent objectors, their tenacity and audacity, are our most powerful weapons.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 13/2/2009)