European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

OPENING ADDRESS 29throughout history but also to multiethnic/cultural/religious groups thatare a part of the daily life of European society. Education constitutesthe key for the development of this new awareness which is absolutelyessential in order to generate an identity which is open to the world.For this reason, within the field of education, we are aiming tochoose adequate approaches, methods and strategies to continueadvancing in the direction signalled by the goals of an anthropologicalsystem which “conceives educability as an essential dimension ofman” 2 . We wish to offer educators the conceptual and methodologicaltools that will allow them to analyse the situations around them inorder to not only achieve a better knowledge of their environment andits increasing problems but also to foster a change of attitudes and toimplement new practices that can make twenty-first century Europeinto a living space where peace, justice and solidarity are real values.To carry out the programme that we have set ourselves to do, wecount on the collaboration of institutions and organisations of EU memberstates with cultural differences and diverse educational traditions. Theyall have proven capacity to offer arguments and experiences which canfacilitate and enrich the educational guidelines leading to the makingof a European Identity in the sense that has been described. We thankeach of them for their invaluable cooperation. We would also like toexpress our gratitude to our partners in this project, who are presenthere with us:—Jean Monnet Chair of History of European Integration at theUniversity of Salamanca, Spain.—Progetto Domani International Association: Culture andSolidarity (PRO.DO.C.S.), Italy.—Portuguese-Spanish Pedagogical Association, Portugal.We have also relied on the financial support of the following institutions:—European Parliament.—Subdirección General de Programas Europeos. Ministerio deEducación, Cultura y Deporte, Spain.—Investigaciones y Ediciones Foundation, Spain.—Foro de Profesionales de la Empresa, Spain.—Caja Duero, Spain.2Galino, Angeles. “Aproximación a la antropología pedagógica de Pedro Poveda”,in Atreverse a Educar, vol. II, (1998) Madrid, Narcea, S.A.