As described by pilgrims from previous trips, “You travel «The Camino de Santiago» once, yet it remains inside of you for the rest of your life”.
U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, and the Commissioner of Miami Dade, Raquel Regalado participated in the “Camino de Santiago,” program this year, which is organized by The International Studies Foundation (ISF), CIS University’s social-responsibility and civic engagement organization.
In the words of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain:
“I want to thank my friend María Díaz de la Cebosa and her team at the International Studies Foundation for their work in organizing this beautiful program. (…) I have always wanted to walk the «Camino», and to be able to do it with young people from the US and Spain together, for me, is an excellent opportunity. The «Camino» is a great time to share ideas, and is a reminder of the importance of diversity and the value of building bridges between people.”
As in its beginnings in 2017, the “Camino de Santiago 2023” program is designed for academically high-performing young people who are also members of marginalized groups, which offers the opportunity of participating in one of Spain’s most emblematic pilgrimages.
This group pilgrimage aims to promote interculturalism, and also to be a meeting and exchange point for young students from different cultural backgrounds, providing them with a unique experience that will have a positive impact on their own personal development.
As the president of CIS University and ISF, María Díaz de la Cebosa, explained:
“Through this program we seek to facilitate an exchange of ideas, experiences and perspectives among young people from varying cultures. We want to create a space that is conducive to mutual learning and the strengthening of tolerance and empathy.”
A point of contact and multicultural exchange for students from the US, Spain, and Ukraine
This time around, young people between 14 and 16 years of age participated in the ISF Foundation’s “Go! American English” in Madrid. The project is also supported by the US Embassy in Spain, and seeks to provide extra-academic scholarship training centered around English language learning and American culture for students from various high schools in Madrid.
High-performing students from Miami selected by Big Brothers Big Sisters Association of Florida were a part of the group. Also participating for the first time were several students from AECI II: NYC Charter High School for Architecture, Engineering & Construction Industries (a high school in the Bronx, New York) and Miami Dade College, Kendall Campus. Each individual who participated followed in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims along the path known as “the French route,” a roughly 62-mile trek to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia.
Also joining the group this year were Miami Dade District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado with her two children, U.S. Ambassador to Spain Julissa Reynoso, CIS University and ISF Foundation President Maria Diaz de la Cebosa, and Spanish Cultural Center of Miami President Julian Linares.
Ambassador Reynoso addressed the group as follows:
“It is wonderful to see the continued participation of these amazing Miami students. As a New Yorker, I’m glad to see that this year students from New York also participated.”
One of our young guides accompanying the group of students this year was a young, displaced Ukrainian who came to Spain via CIS University’s NGO, “Cruzada Por Los Niños,” shortly after war broke out in his homeland. He traveled with a different group on the “Camino” last year himself, only as a pilgrim with the help of the International Studies Foundation. His prior experience on this pilgrimage last year was helpful to this year’s pilgrims.
This deeply enriching initiative would not have been possible without the aforementioned educational organizations as well as the continued support of International Finance Bank, the U.S. Embassy in Spain, the Spanish Consulate in Miami, and Felipe Enríquez.
Their support has enabled this experience known as “El Camino de Santiago” to be part, now and forever, of the lives of the participants who started 62-miles of adventure with just one small step.
Congratulations, pilgrims!
