EU launches East-West cultural exchange

  Culture and traditions often differ greatly form one country to another and because of this, many countries try to show and teach their culture to others, as well as learn of other cultures, all in a spirit of curiosity.  Each culture has its own way of communicating, arguing, eating, sharing, and showing affection and each tradition remains through a series of passing along the nuances, habits, and sayings for hundreds of years, with only slight variations occurring within each generation.  

  Through thousands of years of separation, the culture of Yemen is quite different form European culture. In order to learn of the differences and bridge the gap spanning ages, the European Union in Sana’a launched an event called European Cultural Week under the slogan “Where Cultures Meet.” “It is the first time that we have launched the European week in Yemen.

This week aim to show some of the European culture to Yemenis and to know Yemen’s culture too,” says Michele Cervone D’urso, Representative of the European Commission Delegation in Yemen.  D’urso says that the EU launched their week in the first week of May because it coincides with the the birth of the EU. “The EU was established on May 9 and was one of the poorest communities in its beginning, yet now can share it’s prosperity with the world.” 

 “We want this week to teach youth about European culture; there will be lectures for high school students and some schools have chosen to be visited by diplomatists of different countries. They will talk about the cooperation between their countries and Yemen, and they will also talk about the things that their countries give Yemen,” states D’urso. 

 D’uro recently visited a school in Kuwait where she was surprised by the students’ questions and took it as proof of a desire to know more about the European culture. This week also will include an EU cooking demonstration giving seven different dishes of seven countries, adding that the drawing competition a wards-giving ceremony.  “For the first time in Yemen, the Natali Prize 2008 for press freedom will be launched in this week with all kinds of media taken in account,” he also added.

European Commission’s development cooperation with Yemen started in 1978 and has since expanded to an advanced cooperation agreement on commercial, development and economic cooperation that were singed in 1997.  In 2003, bilateral relations were further strengthened through the launch of a Political Dialogue, which resulted in opening a delegation-diplomatic representation in January 2004. 

The EU can be considered one of most important import partners of Yemen with 19 percent of Yemen’s imports coming form Europe. However, Europe only absorbs about 2 percent of Yemen’s exports, mainly consisting of agricultural and fishery products, according to EU.

D’urso spoke on the importance of raising the EU’s support to Yemen, which is estimated $30 million per year.  D’urso says that the European Union’s support to Yemen was according to a strategy signed between the two sides to strengthen good governance, human rights, health, agriculture, irrigation and activating the role of civil society organizations. 

Meanwhile, the European culture week aims to extend cooperation between European countries and Yemen and it will include several activities, a cooking week, European Football Cup for schools, and lectures about European culture delivered by a number of European diplomats in Yemen, as well as launching Natalie Press Freedom prize for 2008.

 

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