The European Federation of Saint James Way adopted a manifesto in support of Ukraine

The European Federation of Saint James Way, which represents Santiago de Compostela pilgrim routes within the Council of Europe, has adopted a manifesto supporting the Camino Podolico route and the Ukrainians’ fight for independence, freedom and democracy.

It states that the European Federation of Saint James Way stands for an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine, respect for its territorial sovereignty, and the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future and their relations with other European countries; it expresses full solidarity with Ukrainian colleagues in the Federation and declares its readiness to support them within its competencies.

«At the moment, the Camino Podolico with the starting point in Vinnytsia (4625 km to Santiago de Compostela) is the most significant and important pilgrimage route, because its existence means that Europe continues to walk the paths of freedom, democracy, and respect for the men and women who build this continent every day».

Ildefonso de la Campa Montenegro, the President of the Federation, signed the Manifesto on July 3 during the General Assembly of the organization in Toulouse (France). In his speech, he also expressed support for the Ukrainian partners: «As I have been doing since 2022, I would like to express our explicit support for the Ukrainian people’s struggle for freedom and our condemnation of the Russian Federation’s unjustifiable aggression», – said the President of the European Federation of Saint James Way.

The full text of the manifesto is available here. It will be sent to all main institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe.

The General Assembly of the European Federation of Saint James Way was held in Toulouse, France, in early July. Its main theme was to expand cooperation between countries along one of Europe’s main pilgrimage routes, share best practices, and expand channels for promoting the routes.

Ukraine was represented by Deputy Mayor of Vinnytsia and Vice President of the European Federation of Saint James Way Andrii Ocheretnyi, and Director of the Department of City Marketing and Tourism of the Vinnytsia City Council Oleksandr Vesheleni.

«For the first time, Vinnytsia participated in the General Assembly as Vice President, which gives us a great responsibility for shaping the strategy and activities of the Federation,» said Andriy Ocheretnyi. «Representing Ukraine in this respected organization, we have the opportunity to propose issues and solutions for discussion to 20 members from 10 European countries. In particular, we want to join our efforts to develop methodology and programs that positively impact mental health through routes for civilians and war veterans affected by the aggressor’s military actions. Our colleagues from Croatia and Spain are ready to share their experience, and we, in turn, inspire our partners with new ideas and projects».

Background: The Camino de Santiago, the first cultural route of the Council of Europe, is a network of more than 80,000 km of land routes crossing 29 European countries and 30,000 miles of sea routes that have been uniting the peoples of Europe for more than 1,200 years, promoting the exchange of knowledge and strengthening the culture of harmony, mutual understanding and human connections that have helped shape European civilization since the Middle Ages. One of the pilgrimage routes of this network is Saint James Way of Podillya (Camino Podolico) in Ukraine, which is coordinated by Vinnytsia City Council together with 10 other communities in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky regions.