IMPORTANT NOTICE - THE DRAWING GROUP HAS BEEN CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO ILL HEALTH
In November, 2002, I was elected foundation president of the first U3A in the Costa Blanca. We received acceptance of our Spanish Constitution in April 2003 and I served three very enjoyable years "in the chair".
We, in Calpe, were instrumental in helping to form U3A's in other towns and our corporate membership totals more than 5,000.
My return is not a "going back", but very much a moving forward with lots of new initiatives in the pipe line supported by a super team of dedicated committee members and group leaders - certainly a recipe for success.
The U3A stands for the University of the Third Age, which is a self-help organisation for people no longer in full time employment providing educational, creative and leisure opportunities in a friendly environment.
The aims are:
To encourage and enable people to help each other to share their knowledge, skills, interests and experience. The group leaders come from within the membership, people who are happy to share their skills and expertise. No qualifications are necessary, nor any awarded.
To demonstrate the benefits and enjoyment to be gained and the new horizons to be discovered in learning throughout life.
To celebrate the capabilities and potential of the Third Age and our value to society.
Each individual member has a responsibility to shape the Calpe U3A to serve the needs of the members.
The U3A consists of people who undertake to learn and to help others learn. One of the guiding principles of the U3A is that, "those who teach shall also learn and those who learn shall also teach".
At the present time, there are over 500 members and we are still growing. The Calpe U3A has members of many nationalities from a number of towns and villages in the area. A General Meeting is held once a month in the Casa de Cultura in Calpe. Information on activities is shared at this time. We also produce a monthly Newsletter, with contributions from members.
Members are asked to complete an application form and record their interests and their areas of expertise. The curriculum of the U3A is as wide as resources permit, and every effort is made to facilitate and accommodate the wishes of members.
Do come and join us, our approach to learning is – "learning is pleasure." You will not regret it.
