The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, through the General Directorate for Africa, discovers SAAM and the objectives of the pilot project of mobility in Vocational Training between Africa and Europe
Last Thursday, March 29th, representatives of SAAM presented the Project to the General Directorate for Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Among those present were Diego Nuño García, Deputy Director General for Multilateral and Horizontal Affairs of Sub-Saharan Africa, Carmen Buján Freire, Advisory Member, Mencía Manso de Zúñiga, Advisory Member, and Alejandra Rubio del Barrio, Desk Officer.
For SAAM, Enrique Miana and Beatrice Bellet attended as representatives of Asociación Mundus (coordinating entity of the project), Alfredo Garmendia of Centro San Viator (promoter of the project) and Ángel Gudiña, Coordinator of Institutional Relations of Salesian Missions.
The objective of the meeting was to create professional links between the institution and the project, since both share the objectives of promoting educational development and legal immigration. The GD for Africa showed interest in SAAM and expressed the need for creating a network between the Ministry, diplomatic missions, different government services and international cooperation projects such as SAAM. These types of collaborations are necessary to achieve common goals more quickly and easily.
“It is important to understand that Africa is the future”, said Diego Nuño, who also explained that Africa is a priority for the current legislature. Something that is demonstrated in Foco Africa 2023, the action program of the III Africa Plan.
One of the key points of the III Africa Plan is to promote orderly, regular and safe mobility between the African continent and Spain. SAAM is the largest project to date that seeks precisely that: to create links in relation to Vocational Training (VET) between Europe and Africa through the international mobility of European and African teachers and students.
The project financed by the European Commission is committed to training development and cultural exchange to promote legal immigration and the return of young people to their countries of origin with a reinforced position. The idea is to ensure that, thanks to this experience in Europe, African students grow as professionals and improve their employability, then they can take that knowledge to their countries of origin and that find a job both in companies in their country and in European companies based there.
After covering all the points in common between the GD for Africa and SAAM, the meeting concluded with messages of encouragement and with the hope that what is now a pilot project in the future could be something as established in the education system as mobility training within the European Union.
