European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

Opening AddressCamino Cañón LoyesPresidentEducation for an Interdependent World (EDIW), BelgiumWe have all gathered at the University of Salamanca to reflect uponan issue which is particularly important in this time and age in whichour world is so stirred by violence. We are going to carry out a nonproductivetask. Presenting the study of European Identity is in itself away of asserting that economic approaches do not constitute theexclusive referent in the process of European construction.Hanna Arendt mentioned with subtle sharpness and a touch ofirony: “It has always been assumed —maybe wrongly— that thinkingwas the heritage of a few. It might not be excessively daring to believethat, in our days, these few are still fewer. This fact can be of little orlimited importance for the future of the world, but it is not so for thefuture of mankind” 1 . By means of this Seminar we would like to jointhose few who dare to think about relevant issues for the future ofmen and women in our planet. The international association EDIW(Education for an Interdependent World) is clearly showing an interestin “fostering deep reflection on the reciprocal relationships betweeneducational processes and European construction” within a frameworkof solidarity in relation to the rest of the countries in the world.We believe that European Citizenship, as it currently appears inCommunity treaties, is a barely shaped reality, which still requiresthought and definition. Its realisation in the daily lives of our societiesdepends, to a great extent, on the pace of the process of Europeanconstruction. In order for this citizenship to develop and acquire realmeaning, specific profiles that are undoubtedly associated with therecognition of European Identity ought to be defined.1Arendt, H. (1993) La Condición Humana. Barcelona: Paidós, p. 349 (first publishedby The University of Chicago Press).