Every 9th May, the European Union celebrates peace and unity on 'Europe Day'. Some activities from the countries where AVSI works in cooperation with the European Union.
The event marks the anniversary of the day in 1950 when Robert Schuman, one of the founders of the EU, made his 'Schuman Declaration', outlining a vision to unite separate European states into a single community.
EU Lebanon cooperation days
The European Delegation to Lebanon, in collaboration with the EU Member States, organized the 3rd EU Lebanon Cooperation Days on 8 and 9 May 2015 at the Pavilion Royale in BIEL, Beirut.
This two-day conference were open to all interested audiences and provided an opportunity for Lebanese and European partners to showcase their activities, present their results, extend their professional networks, and increase their knowledge on the EU-Lebanon cooperation. In the exhibition area there was room for AVSI Foundation, inside Syrian Crisis Response Area, where AVSI showed its work for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Mozambique
The European Union Delegation in Mozambique organized the celebrations of Europe Day 2015. The celebrations took place on the 9th of May on the beach in Maputo (Costa do Sol), with activities related to environmental awareness and sports tournaments where teams from the EU Member States, the EU Delegation, the Mozambican government and the Mozambican civil society got a chance to meet outside of meeting room.
APAC at Bruxelles
At its headquarters in Brussels, the EEAS marked the Europe Day by participating in the Open Doors Day organised by the European Council. During the open day, there were a presentation and some pictures of "APAC prison system", AVSI supported project for prisoners human rights in Brasil.
The Association for Protection and Assistance of Prisoners (APAC – Associação de Proteçao e Assistência aos condenados) is a Brazilian not-for-profit organization which has been developing a unique approach to prison regime since 1972. APAC's methodology, which today is considered as a reference point also at the international level, is based on the concept of human valorization and represents an alternative to the conventional prison system. APAC prisons are run by civil society and are marked by their lack of police presence, guns and prison guards. Instead safety and discipline are managed by the prisoners themselves with assistance from support staff, typically volunteers. APACs' results are outstanding, in terms of costs (one third), recidivism rates (less than 10%) and effectiveness in ensuring prisoners' human rights.
Congo Brazzaville
Europe Day in Brazzaville has seen the creation of two activities in which the protagonists were the national and international NGOs that are working with EU: 3 panel discussions and a forum of NGOs. Many topics were discussed, such as development, the socio-professional integration and the new challenges of environment. AVSI took part to the event and the forum. Pictures and videos of AVSI's activities in Brazzaville were diplayed during the day.
In Pointe-Noire district there is one of the most important EU funded projects in Brazzaville, for the employment of people with disabilities. More than 7 thousand people with disabilities live in the city of Pointe – Noire, south of Congo Brazzaville. In order to give them better living conditions and to promote their integration in the local labor market, AVSI carries out training and mobile casino help them to create stand-alone cooperatives.