WESTERN SAHARA: AFRICA’S LAST COLONY by the Sahrawi Association of Oñati GALUHA

In 2026, Western Sahara remains known as Africa’s last colony, with an ongoing conflict that has persisted for more than 50 years since Spain’s withdrawal and Morocco’s invasion in 1975.

Learn about the conflict in the Sahara, as well as the reality and cause of the Sahrawi people, through the voices of Sahrawis living in Oñati.

Monday, May 11, at 6:00 p.m., at the Oñati Cultural Center (3rd floor).

The Sahrawi association of Oñati, Galuha, is the meeting place for Sahrawis in Oñati. Its work focuses on supporting the Sahrawi cause and raising awareness about the conflict in the Sahara. 

This talk has been organized by EREI Elkartasunerako Elkartea with funding from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

TALK BY MARIAMA NIANG SYLLA, A LAWYER WHO IS SPECIALISED IN INMIGRATION LAW

Mariama Niang Sylla will be in Tolosa the 28th of March in order to give a talk about migration and the extraordinary regularization. Among other topics, the details of the extraordinary regularization process recently announced by the Spanish government will be explained.

Mariama has a Bachelor’s Degree in Law by the University of Cantabria and she was born in Spain in a family that migrated here. She works as a lawyer who is specialised in inmigration law and she is also the lawyer of the Senegalese association Terranga of Barakaldo. She also collaborates with the Booloo Senegal Gipuzkoa association of Tolosa, among others.

The talk will be the 28th of March, Saturday, at 17:00 in Tolosa’s Kultur Etxea.

Organised by EREI in collaboration with Booloo Senegal Gipuzkoa and with funding from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

TALK - WORKSHOP: TOURISTS, CITIES AND MIGRANTS with ALEJANDRA BUITRAGO

Talk-workshop on tourism and migration with Alejandra Buitrago, open to all residents of Oñati and the surrounding area.

The aim of this event is to reflect on the unequal relationship between tourists and the local population and how tourism leads to the exclusion of citizens from public spaces. And also to open up a space for reflection on migration and mobility in cities.

Given that nowadays most people (including the population of Oñati) travel to other parts of the world, it is important to create a space to reflect on the beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors we have when we travel to another place, especially when that place has a different history and diverse living conditions.

Tourism and the case of Cartagena, Colombia's main tourist destination, provide an opportunity to discuss how we interpret difference and how we judge things that are new to us from our own cultural perspective. It also invites us to reflect on the privileges we enjoy and to apply the principle of non-discrimination in our daily lives.

Alejandra Buitrago is a Colombian anthropologist interested in how communities describe, think about, and represent their territory.

The talk will take place on Monday, March 23, at 6:00 p.m., in Eltzia (Oñati), at the Lagun Leku space.

This workshop is organized by EREI Elkartasunerako Elkartea in collaboration with Lagun Leku and with the financial support of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

EREI IN THE RADIO OF OÑATI

This week, EREI was at Oñati Irratia. Based on the social cartography workshop held on February 23 at Eltzia, we also discussed the projects we are currently working on. Among other things, this workshop is part of a project approved under the 2025 development grants, which aims to promote anti-racist and feminist coexistence in diversity.

Thus, once a month, gathering spaces will be created for the citizens of Oñati and the surrounding area, through the participation of people from diverse backgrounds, with the aim of bringing together knowledge and initiatives from different countries. The next meeting will be on March 23.

SOCIAL CARTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP BY ALEJANDRA BUITRAGO

Social cartography workshop led by Alejandra Buitrago, open to all residents of Oñati and the surrounding area.

Considering that maps are not neutral representations of space and respond to particular interests, the aim of this workshop is to learn about other forms of mapping beyond the official ones, to show that maps can speak about our homes and communities, our memories, public space, and our projects, and to reflect on how our origins, life experiences, and cultures influence the way we perceive and represent space. This is an invitation to share, reflect, and dream from the rivers, roads, and flavors of the people who live in Oñati.

Alejandra Buitrago is a Colombian anthropologist interested in learning how communities describe, think about, and represent their territory. Alejandra is also passionate about geography, cartography, and exploring mountains, villages, and stories.

The workshop will take place on Monday, February 23, at 6:00 p.m., in Eltzia (Oñati), at the Lagun Leku space.

This workshop is organized by EREI Elkartasunerako Elkartea in collaboration with Lagun Leku and with the financial support of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

THE TALK BY MARIAMA NIANG SYLLA in the news in GOIENA

The GOIENA media group has published a report on the talk organized by the EREI association and held on 14th november by the lawyer Mariama Niang Sylla who is specialised in inmigration law at Kultur Etxea in Oñati.

The report also includes the voices of a member of EREI Elkartea and Mariama

TALK BY MARIAMA NIANG SYLLA, A LAWYER WHO IS SPECIALISED IN INMIGRATION LAW

Mariama Niang Sylla will be in Oñati the 14th of November in order to give a talk about migration and the new inmigration law.

Mariama has a Bachelor’s Degree in Law by the University of Cantabria and she was born in Spain in a family that migrated here. She works as a lawyer who is specialised in inmigration law and she is also the lawyer of the Senegalese association Terranga of Barakaldo. She also collaborates with the Booloo Senegal Gipuzkoa association of Tolosa, among others.

The talk will be the 14th of November, Friday, at 18:00 in Oñati’s Kultur Etxea.

Organised by EREI, with funding from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and Oñati Town Council.

THE MUSICAL TALK BY "SOL BAND" FROM GAZA in the news in GOIENA

The GOIENA media group has published a report on the musical talk organized by the EREI association and held this week by the musical group SOL BAND from Gaza at Kultur Etxea in Oñati.

The report also includes the voices of a member of EREI Elkartea and two members of the SOL BAND musical group.

MUSICAL TALK BY "SOL BAND" FROM GAZA

A musical talk with the music band “SOL BAND” from Gaza to get to know the current situation and the cultural and musical roots of Palestine first-hand. 

On October 1st, at 19:00 in Oñati’s Kultur Etxea.

SOL BAND is a band formed in 2012 by a group of young folk music lovers from Gaza. SOL BAND stands out for its combination of traditional and modern instruments, its fusion of different genres, and the joy and energy it conveys through its music.

Organised by EREI, with funding from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and Oñati Town Council.

FLAVORS OF THE WORLD

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of the intercultural festival Flavors of the World.

It was a wonderful and emotional day. The square of Oñati was full of life. Each person shared their culture with generosity, respect and a lot of illusion.

“Oñati shone with our cultures, our voices and our desire to share. It was a true example of living together and community.”

Thanks to all the people who came to the square.

And thanks to the City Council of Oñati, for the support to carry out this activity.

#oñatikoudala
@onatiko_gaztelekua
@hotz_onati
#asociaciontotai Bolivia
#argentinaeuskalherria
#asociacionsaharauioñati
@asociacionucraniaeuskadi
#estudiocreativoalaia
@lurartenika
#nicaragua
#baltistan
#colombia

FLAVORS OF THE WORLD IN THE RADIO OF OÑATI

This week 3 members of EREI Elkartea have been in Oñati Irratia talking about the intercultural festival FLAVORS OF THE WORLD to be held in the square of Oñati next Saturday.

In addition to the details of the event, we have also talked about the idea, organization and process of this initiative, and incidentally, we wanted to thank the support of the City Council of Oñati and make an appeal to all citizens of Oñati to come to the square on Saturday and celebrate together.

CARE AND CARE WORKERS

Care and the care workers were the main topics of yesterday's panel discussion and we had the opportunity to hear the voice of two workers at first hand.

From EREI it is important to point out that 95% of domestic workers are women and among them 45% are migrant women, not taking into account women in an irregular administrative situation.

At yesterday's panel discussion we had the opportunity to have the participation of four women linked to care work: Paloma (Gu Haziak Gara), Karla (caregiver), Cipriana (caregiver) and Susana (Elkarzabal), who talked about how to respond to the care needs that we currently have at the social level or what are the working conditions and rights of care workers, among others.

Each of the speakers made interesting, necessary and important interventions and there was a nice discussion with the audience.

Thanks to all the participants and to all the people who attended.

This activity has been carried out in collaboration with the association Gu Haziak Gara and with the funding of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK OF POEMS "UN CUERPO SIN INSTRUCCIONES"

Presentation of the book of poems of Yesenhia Elyane Villanueva Carrizo, called “Un cuerpo sin instrucciones”, on Thrusday, 21 November, at 20:00 in the bookshop Re-Read of Donostia (Segundo Izpizua, 13).

The book of poems talks about several topics, including mental health, migration, depression and ansiety. It also talks about the healing and understanding process between oneself and her or his body.

Yesenhia is a young woman with Argentinian origins and she had always close contact with music, dance and  interpretation in her childhood. But never with writing, not until she started to write when she was 13, thanks to her Spanish teacher. She publishes her first book with the age of 16: “Un cuerpo sin instrucciones”.

The presentation of the book will be organized with the support of A Planeta and with the finantial support of Oñati Cityhall and Gipuzkoa Provincial Council.

TOP MANTA IN OÑATI - TALK IN SANTA ANA THEATRE

Lamine Bathily, member of the project Top Manta, will be in Oñati to give a talk about the struggles of the street vendors colective of Barcelona and about the social and structural racism at first hand.

On Wednesday, 16 October, at 19:00 in Santa Ana theatre of Oñati.

Top Manta is a social and solidary clothes brand created in 2017 from the trade union of street vendors of Barcelona, with the aim of improving the lifes of street vendors. In fact, during many years, the street vendors of Barcelona have been harassed by the police, by some political parties and by big fashion companies. Top Manta was created to face up to all this and to guarantee the future of local communities, instead of forcing them to migrate. Top Manta is nowadays an ethical and sustainable project, that made possible that more than 120 people obtained their documents.

This talk is organized with the finantial support of the City Hall of Oñati and the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council.

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE "34 AFGHAN WINDOWS" IN OÑATI

Musical performance “34 Afghan Windows” by the Afghan musician and activist Elena Yaqubee and the Italian musician Fabio Joel Tunno.

On 3 July, at 19:00 in Oñati, in the Lazarraga garden.

The number 34 refers to the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, where in each of them there are different cultures, traditions, music and stories to discover. The idea is to give each listener the opportunity to open the windows and discover the reality of this forgotten land. 

This performance is part of the “Kalean” programme of the Oñati Municipal Department of Culture @oinatikultura and will be free of charge.

Organised by EREI, with funding from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and Oñati Town Council.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN: SCREENING AND CONVERSATION

Screening of the musical video “Whirling” created by the Afghan musician and activist Elena Yaqubee and by the Italian musician Fabio Joel Tunno.

July 4, Thursday, at 20:00: in ReRead library of Donostia (Segundo Izpizua, 13)

The musical video takes 15 minutes and talks about women’s rights in Afghanistan. After the screening, there will be a talk with the artists about the situation in Afghanistan, women’s rights, migration and being a woman in exile.

Moreover, the two artists will bring their guitars and we will have the chance to listen to some songs in live.

The screening and conversation is organized with the support of A planeta and with the funding of Gipuzkoa Provincial Council.

EREI IN THE RADIO OF OÑATI

Arantzazu and Miren Zubeldia Plazaola, of EREI Elkartea, have been to Oñati Irratia (radio of Oñati). Besides the talk by Nadia Ghulam, organized together with the Hotz Oñati association, they have also talked about the projects they have in hand. Among other things, they have also discussed about the research work they have carried out in 2024 about the intercultural living together through a grant from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

TALK BY NADIA GHULAM IN OÑATI

Talk about women's rights and the general situation in Afghanistan by the Afghan human rights defender, activist and writer Nadia Ghulam.

Nadia Ghulam was born in Kabul (Afghanistan) in 1985 and lived through the consequences of the civil war and the Taliban regime. However, she managed to survive thanks to her ingenuity and courage, pretending to be a boy for ten years in order to feed her family. Thanks to the collaboration with an NGO, she arrived in Catalonia, where she has been living for some years.

On 4 June, at 19:00 in Oñati, at Kultur Etxea.

Organised by EREI elkartea (with the funding of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa) and Hotz Oñati.

SCREENING OF THE THEATRE PLAY "THE BOAT" AND DISCUSSION WITH ITS DIRECTOR AND ONE OF ITS ACTRESSES

"The Boat" is a theatre play created, performed and recorded with the intention of broadcasting in 2021 on the Greek island of Lesbos. It is a play created and performed by the group "The Boat collective", which is formed by refugees and migrants who are or have been in Greece.

The play talks, with no words, about the journey that refugees have to make to get to Europe. Both the director and the actors of the play are people who are immersed in their migratory processes and this allows them to tell a part of the migratory process, the journey, at first hand.

The Iranian director of the play Iman Alidoosti Shahraki and the Afghan actress Masume Husseini will be present, and after the screening a discussion on the realities of migration and human rights will be held with the audience.

October 25th, at 19:00, in Oñati, in Kultur Etxea. (!! Due to the strike in the public services, the event will be held in Eltzia, 3rd floor)

October 26th, at 18:30, in Hernani, in Kulturarteko Plaza Feminista.

Organised by EREI elkartea, funded by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the Town Council of Oñati.

CHALLENGES OF THE ASYLUM PROCESS IN THE MAIN EUROPEAN HOST COUNTRIES: ORIGIN AND RESPONSES

The association EREI has carried out a research work in the main European host countries, Germany and France, at first hand and from a gender and global perspective. For this purpose, we have conducted interviews with refugees in Germany and France. In addition to dealing with the migratory realities of the host countries, the research work also addresses the reality of the countries of origin, especially Afghanistan and Iran. At the same time, it gives an insight into the projects that are created in migratory contexts.

Two refugees who participated in the interviews will be connected online. They will talk about the migratory reality in Europe and about their projects and activism, promoting a discussion with the audience. Their words will be translated into Basque and/or Spanish.

Where: Okendo Kultur Etxea, assembly hall.
When: 14 June, Wednesday, at 19:00.

Organized by EREI, with the support of a grant from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.