The Town Council considers the municipality an example of coexistence, with residents from 135 countries representing 32 per cent of those on the register. The ‘Compartiendo Culturas’ programme, which this weekend celebrates Ukraine and Nordic Countries Days, will be reinforced.

Estepona Town Council reports that it is working on new municipal strategies aimed at continuing to strengthen the integration of all the nationalities registered in the city. For years the municipality has been established as an example of social and cultural coexistence, with residents of up to 135 different nationalities who represent 32 per cent of those on the register.

“These people have chosen Estepona to live with their families, to work or to set up their businesses. These residents have been here for decades and others have arrived in recent years, but they all have in common the affection they feel for this city that has known how to welcome them”, says the mayor, José María García Urbano.

Aware of the cultural and social richness offered by this mix of nationalities, the Town Council wants to promote new actions that encourage integration and that in turn allow us to learn about the richness of those other realities from different perspectives.

Thus, the Town Council is strengthening lines of collaboration with the different foreign communities in the city in order to organise new events of interest, meetings with proposals and exchange of views, and improve the way their needs are addressed. In this regard, the following email addresses have been made available to which such proposals can be sent: aleksandrab@estepona.es, dmohamed@estepona.es, andrea.ruoppolo@estepona.es, yanah.blancke@estepona.es.

The Town Council wishes to highlight the altruism shown by these foreign groups at times when everyone’s help was needed (food collections, COVID, the Valencia DANA floods…), while acknowledging these residents’ collaboration in all the charity events held in the city to support different social causes.

New ‘Compartiendo Culturas’ activities

The Town Council will continue and reinforce the ‘Compartiendo Culturas’ initiative, a series of themed festivals held in the city to showcase the gastronomy, culture, crafts and art of the different countries with a community in Estepona. This initiative has ever more popular support because, in a more festive setting, it encourages communication between residents of different nationalities and languages.

Thus, this coming weekend the Nordic Countries and Ukraine Days will be held in different public spaces in the city. The councillor for the Outskirts area, Begoña Ortiz, said that this initiative reflects the Town Council’s commitment to promoting cultural diversity and integration, fundamental values for the social and economic development of the city.

For the celebration of Nordic Countries Day, the Asociación Nórdica de Estepona has collaborated, organising several activities that will take place on Saturday 27 September from 18:00 to 22:00 on the seafront promenade, next to the Peseta monument. There will be tastings of typical Scandinavian food and drink, crafts and entertainment for the whole family.

On the musical side, Nordic Day will offer a varied programme of performances by Scandinavian artists. Pupils from the Swedish International School will open the stage with traditional children’s songs. Next, Kjell Kläpp Eriksson and Susanne Preisler will perform. The Camerata Sotogrande choir will also take part, and there will be a fun music contest in which the audience can join in and show off their talent. As a grand finale, last year’s favourites return, “the King and the Queen”, Glenn Wish and Helene Wish Persson, to delight us once again with their wide and charismatic repertoire.

The president of the Nordic Association, Ulf Hedendahl, said that “this activity is a wonderful way of sharing our culture with the locals, and we are proud and grateful that the Town Council shows its appreciation for the Nordic presence in our city and that we can organise such an important event together”.

Ukraine Day, for its part, will be held on Sunday 28 September, also on the seafront promenade. From 12:00, visitors will be able to browse the craft market, which will bring together a carefully chosen selection of unique, handmade products. At the same time, family workshops will begin, where the little ones can enjoy activities such as artistic drawing and fun Cossack games.

At 14:00 the long-awaited food festival will begin, inviting attendees to taste a varied selection of typical Ukrainian dishes and drinks, in a festive and welcoming atmosphere. The grand finale will come from 17:00 until 21:00, with a great Gala Concert starring Ukrainian singers, dancers and artistic groups.

The president of the Prosvita Association, Valentina Bodnar, for her part, highlighted the “similarity between Ukraine and Spain”. In this regard, she pointed out that both countries share “very important traits such as love of their traditions and the importance of family”.

The Town Council invites all citizens to take an active part in this celebration, which reinforces Estepona’s vocation as a cultural and tourist benchmark on the Costa del Sol.