Intercultural meeting set for June 12 to 18

Joan Collins THE first intercultural meeting, under the title People of the World, will be held in Palma between June 12 and 18. A total of 21 countries will take part in the meeting, the aim of which is to give residents of the islands more knowledge of the different cultures of the immigrant groups in the Balearics. This will be done through conferences, parades, film shows and sports, according to the Balearic Minister for Immigration and Cooperation, Encarnacion Pastor. She was announcing the different activities which will take place during this intercultural week, in the company of the director general of Immigration, Juan Manuel Gomez and his equivalent in Cooperation, Magdalena Contesti. “It is an intercultural meeting so that Balearic society can learn about the different cultures that coexist in the same area”, said Pastor, who added that “ignorance is the worst enemy of integration”. Among the activities, Pastor highlighted the seminars on immigration and codevelopment which will take place on June 15 and 16. Also participating will be the director generals of each of the areas, representatives of different countries who will talk about the problems of the Latin American, African, European and Asiatic regions. According to Gomez, in addition to the conferences, there is a cycle of film shows planned, showing films of different nationalities (Argentina, Spain and Algeria, France and Luxemburg) with the aim of “reflecting the different reality of the countries of origin of immigrants” which, afterwards, will be the subject of a round table debate. On June 13 the Sala Augusta in Palma will show the film Herencia (Legacy), on June 14 the film Poniente (West), while on June 15 Hola Primo (Hello cousin) can be seen. “The intention is to analyse the different forms of film as well as the reality and stories they show”, said Gomez. Contesti explained that the round of conferences will take place between June 12 and 15 with “various” themes related to the integration of immigrants and the reaction of the society in which they settle. Contesti said that one of the conferences (on June 14) will be about immigrant women, entitled Immigrant Women in the Balearics.