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Columbares Association

Region de Murcia - Spain

Columbares Association was founded in 1986. Its roots date back to the neighbourhoods’ movements of the 70s, during the Spanish transition to democracy. In the course of time, Columbares has been declared Outstanding Community Service entity (1998), has been awarded with the Civil Order’s Silver Cross for Social Solidarity (1999) and with the Youth Regional Prize for its Commitment to the Youth (2002).

After more than eighteen years being actively present in Murcia, the Association supports, develops and promotes social, work, education and cultural projects with different population groups. The Columbares Association aims fundamentally at the social and work integration of the most disadvantaged social groups: immigrants, young people, women, families, children, the elderly and unemployed people, among others.

The Columbares Association activities can be classified in five work areas:

• Within the first work area Columbares intervenes with the immigrant population through the Assistance to Immigrants Centres Network, Sheltered Housing for Women and Minors, Compensatory Education Project in Public Schools, Career Guidance Office and the Project for the Improvement of Immigrants Housing Conditions.
• The second area of intervention is aimed at ethnic minorities, based on assistance to families at risk of social exclusion and on learning support and assistance for children and minors from families in difficulties.
• Within the third area Columbares works with the youth, in an Office for Social and Professional Guidance and Advice, offering training curricula and a specialised information service for young people.
• For the fourth area of intervention Columbares has an effective Authorised Training School. Among the different trainings offered we find Occupational Training and Adapted Professional Initiation, Adults Education, English Courses and Introduction to Computing.
• The fifth and last action area is social participation.
  The Columbares Association focus its goals on awareness
  raising tools, organising cultural events, establishing meeting
  points for different groups, aiming for a spontaneous dialogue and enabling communication based on the plural and diverse knowledge present in our current society. The Columbares Association, based on diversity, defends a society opening its doors to this new way of openness and communication called interculturality.