90 civic and social societies take part in the initiative created by the Gold Alliance. 150 young professionals representing cities from all over Europe have enjoyed Valencian culture, traditions and identity this month. From Thursday 19 September until the typical Valencian “germanor” lunch that bid farewell on Sunday to the 150 young Europeans who have enjoyed Valencia at the 8th European Interclubs Youth Meeting, Valencian culture, traditions and identity have been experienced with enthusiasm and in English. Since the ‘Casino de Agricultura’ was chosen to host this important initiative of the Gold Alliance, the organising committee formed by Eloy Haya, Epifanio Pérez, Miguel Poyatos, José María Boluda, Guillermo Roth, Juan Broseta, Vicente Boluda and Lluís Bertomeu, worked hard to show, in just 3 days, the most important aspects of Valencian culture.

For the “8th Young European Interclub Weekend” to have been a success, the combination of culture and gastronomy, traditions and modernity, has been essential, as the aim of these meetings is not only to promote cultural exchange and personal growth, but also to encourage quality tourism with young people committed to Europeanism and values shared and demonstrated in different clubs around the world. They made institutional visits to Valencia City Hall, toured the historic centre, Alicia Palazón showed them the Holy Chalice and told them its history. In addition, the Cor Jove de la Comunitat Valenciana, directed by José Vicente Balaguer, gave them a concert at the Palau de la Música where they were welcomed by its director, Vicent Llimerà. And of course, they tasted authentic Valencian paella and also toured the City of Arts and Sciences.

The Royal Society of Agriculture and Sports has been at the service of Valencia for 165 years and also maintains correspondence and relations with 65 clubs in Spain and 90 abroad. Better known as the ‘Casino de Agricultura’, welcoming everyone for the gala dinner was one of the most special moments as these meetings seek to live the history of each club.

The Gold Alliance is an international organisation that was born from the hand of Piero Cattarini, who created the idea of connecting the two clubs of which he was a member, the Real Gran Peña de Madrid and the Koninklijke Industrieele Groote Club of Amsterdam. Thus was born in 2017 the first “Young European Inerclub Weekend” that led to the creation of the Gold Alliance, after several consecutive years uniting members from different clubs in Europe. And that is the main objective, to share common values, such as respect for race, religion, individual freedom, as well as respect for the particular traditions, rules and history of each club, not forgetting shared business and professional interests. In addition, the Gold Alliance has a special commitment to ALS and will donate a percentage of the proceeds from the most expensive event to a local foundation that supports people with ALS. Indeed, the Gold Alliance is chaired by Piero Cattarini and its members belong to 90 societies all over the world, from India, through most European countries to the United States. Yuri Aguilar is the Valencian representative, who also experienced in Helsinki the excitement of having been chosen as host club together with Eloy Haya, Sebastià Salas and Lluís Bertomeu.

Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’