ESC: "It's In Your Hands", long-term volunteering about hate speech

The Association Columbares emerged within the neighborhood movements in the 1970s as a grouping element of the Southern Cordillera Project. The philosophy of the project was based primarily on the participation of citizens in the economic and social development of their community, moving away from being passive subjects and working towards the attainment of their own identity. During its first stage, from 1977 onwards, different individuals and social groups worked together to channel the intense, eminently social, activity that the period of political transition entailed and which constituted an important starting point for the subsequent development of social welfare policies. The second phase began in 1985,when the associations and social groups that had been participating in the Southern Cordillera Project channeled all their efforts in a single line,until April 1986, the month in which the Association was given its first legal statutes and entered in the General Register of Associations. As far as the Columbares Association is concerned, our main objectives are to promote, support and develop educational, cultural, welfare and socio-occupational projects for the benefit of the following groups: children, young people, women, immigrants, the elderly, families, refugees and asylum-seekers, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, prisoners, ex-prisoners and people under alternative measures, people affected by HIV, migrants, Spanish returnees, and in general to all those groups in situation or at risk of social exclusion, and to the population in general within the scope of action of the Association, promoting interculturality at all times. Our Mission is to help people, especially those who are socially, economically, educationally or culturally vulnerable, achieve their full inclusion and get to a more just, supportive and environmentally friendly society. We want to: Be a reference point for people and institutions in matters of social inclusion, education, culture and the environment. Develop innovative projects and provide quality services. Build an efficient, flexible and transparent organization made up of highly trained professionals. Achieve stable, balanced and sustainable financing. Seek the continuous improvement of our services, as well as the quality of our and our beneficiaries’ life.Our Values: Commitment: Involvement with the entity, the social context and the environment Solidarity: Efforts to improve the living conditions of the most disadvantaged Tolerance: Acceptance of and respect of all differences Equality: Equal opportunities for all people Interculturality: Coexistence, exchange and learning between cultures Sustainability: Pursuit of Environmental, Social and Economic Balance Social Transformation: Active Citizenship