The Organizers of the IOV World Youth Congress are urging everyone who has applied and been accepted to get their airline tickets now.  Airfares are expected to increase in the coming weeks.

The Travel Fund, which was set up to help youth who can’t afford the cost of tickets, is nearly empty, as more than 60 people have asked for financial assistance.  The organizers emphasize that everyone must try to find money for tickets on their own.

Those who will receive financial assistance will be notified within the coming days.  Since the money won’t be available until after youth arrive in China, everyone must pay for tickets in their home country.

Spain Confirms Participation

Spain confirmed this week that it will be represented by a delegation of 5 people.  The delegation will be led by Dr. Javier Ilarris, Regional Executive Secretary for Southern Europe and his wife, Rut, who is completing a Ph.D. in Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Members of the delegation include Mrs. Rut Maria Jesus Pairet-Molina.  Mrs. Pairet-Molina is an architect and works as public servant for the Sagunto Municipality, a city of 50.000 inhabitants, 25km north from Valencia.  Sagunto is famous as the birth place of Joaquín Rodrigo (the composer of the Aranjuez Concerto for Spanish guitar), where she is a member of the Sagunto Music Society.  Ms. Pairet-Molina will speak on preservation of traditional agriculture.

Ramón Zacarías Cerdá-Ramón received degrees in both physics and violin. He is currently a music teacher in the Sagunto Musical Society. Mr. Cerda-Ramon will speak about a museum of traditional instruments.

Enrique Parreno-Moratalla  Mr. Parreno-Moratalla received a degree in music. He is currently the Director of the Musical Union of Alaquas, a city of 35.000 inhabitants, 5 km south from Valencia.  His presentation will focus on his experiences teaching traditional music to the children of Alaquas.