The Way of Saint James, famous all over the world, for many people represents the will to achieve some personal goals through previous effort and strength. Achieving a sustainable world and its 17 goals is a challenge that depends on each individual. That is why a group of 10 young people from different cultures will march together meeting the people of the villages and their administrators to promote the 2030 agenda and the need for all these people to join this path to sustainability.

From Burgos (Castilla y León) to Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) - Rural Area in the North of Spain

Castilla y León is the largest autonomous community in Spain and the third largest territory in the European Union. The population of Castilla y León represents 5.69% of the population of Spain, although its vast territory covers almost one fifth of the total area of the country. The region has been characterized for at least six decades by a very regressive population dynamics with a high aging that affects primarily rural areas. Rural depopulation characterises this territory, affecting mainly those small municipalities that have to cope with a lack of services and community development policies. Characteristics that also fit the territory of the bordering Galicia and characterized by the presence of the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago).

As explained above, the people along the Way live a situation of isolation in different areas, political, health, education, etc. The vast majority of awareness-raising activities, training provision, basic services and other things are offered in medium-sized and large cities, leaving an institutional desert and a lack of opportunities in the other parts of these two regions. Our target are the people who live in these rural areas, our goal is to involve the municipalities and social organizations present along the Way. We want these people to be aware of the 2030 agenda and its objectives as we are convinced that sustainability represents a real opportunity for the development of these territories.

The first step will be to analyze carefully the journey from Burgos to Santiago, both geographically and socially. Define the key stages of our travelling awareness campaign and prepare a document explaining our idea, the kind of support we need and the impact that an initiative of this size can have on these territories. Successively, we will take the contacts with the public administrations and with the organizations of the villages of the Way of Saints James to involve them directly in the organization of the activities. We will define the group of young volunteers who will have to march physically along the way. We will organize the SDG march between August and September and finally we will do a job of disseminating the results at the local, regional and international levels.

Rural areas need to be involved in the development policies of a territory. Finding administrations and people along the way and presenting the 17 SDG is an important awareness raising activity that can create new opportunities. Listening to their problems and their proposals for community development is also a democratic exercise and a promotion of active citizenship. These meetings can build the basis for new political actions or decisions at all levels. The organization of a first meeting in Burgos to give visibility to the problem and a last meeting in Santiago, where we will try to give voice to the communities,we will meet along the way,represent two important stages at the political level, in which it will be our responsibility to involve political decision-makers from both regions.

In our view, the active participation of people in the community represents the most important form of democracy. Participation clearly involves a significant personal effort that people are often unwilling to make. Connecting the Way of Saint James with this effort represents the need for each person, each administration and each community to be able to assume their personal commitment to the 2030 Agenda and to achieving the 17 SDG. Also, we think that the practical example has a very powerful force of sensitization and teaching and if we could involve in our travelling road the rural communities of the villages in the organization of events and participatory activities would be a first steps on the road to sustainability.

Amycos, a few years ago, has undertaken an action to raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDG that has become our work agenda. Through communication campaigns, exhibitions and educational and awareness-raising workshops throughout Castilla y León and other border regions, we have managed to speak of solidarity, social justice and participation. The march of the SDG represents the possibility of finding many people from all over the world in our territory and achieving high visibility for the SDG, putting people living in rural areas at the centre.

Travel accommodation maintenance volunteers+team(30 days):20000€
Buying and renting equipment for the march:3000€
Organizational meetings (rent spaces, catering..):3000€
Preparatory Activities (meeting with administrators, oil..):2000€
International support (travel, sending organization..):4000€
Personnel costs:18000€
Now,we don’t have any sponsor but we would like to find local partners.We are considering to cover a small part with a contribution in kind to the project of staff time/goods

We would like to get a general feedback. Also, if a young person would participate in a 1 month march and how could contribute actively in the 17 meetings activities to be organized with the administrators and the population of the rural communities on the Way of Saint James.