XVI 1st of May International Brigade;
Voluntary Work and Solidarity with Cuba
Dear Friends of Cuba,
The Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and our travel agency Amistur have the pleasure of inviting you to participate in the XVI 1st of May International Brigade, marking International Workers Day, which will take place between the 23rd April and 7th May 2023.
As has traditionally been the case, this will include the opportunity to join the historic Cuban May Day parade which will take place in Revolution Square on the 1 May, along with the International Solidarity with Cuba event the following day. In addition, Brigade members will visit places of historic, economic, cultural and social significance, undertake voluntary work, be briefed on current affairs in Cuba, and engage with representatives from different organizations across our society. Your stay in Cuba will allow you to get to know our people and to gain a deeper knowledge of the Cuban reality at present.
This is a time of reforms that are being carried out as part of the updating of our socialist project in the face of adverse circumstances caused by the tightening of the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed on us by successive USA governments for over six decades.
The programme of activities will take place over 14 days in Havana, Artemisa, Villa Clara and Santi Spíritus. This includes 10 nights in the International Camp Julio Antonio Mella (CIJAM) located in the Caimito municipality, 45 kilometres from Havana. Four nights will be spent in Sancti Spíritus, renowned for having some of the most intact and best-preserved colonial architecture of the American continent.
The overall cost of your stay will be 640.00 Euros. This includes accommodation in shared rooms (of up to four persons in CIJAM and double or triple rooms in Sancti Spíritus); full board and airport transfers. Transport to all of the programmed activities will also be provided.
If the total of participants in the Brigade is ultimately under 100 persons, the cost of participation will rise to 680.00 Euros, rather than 640.00 Euros. Payment can be made by bank transfer or online payment. Due to the restrictions imposed by the US blockade, payment cannot be made in USA dollars.
It is obligatory to travel with travel insurance that covers any medical costs in Cuba. For brigade members who stay at the CIJAM before the 23 April start date, there will be an additional supplement of 15.00 Euros per night, covering accommodation and meals.
The voluntary work will be within agriculture in the vicinity of the CIJAM. The CIJAM was established in 1972 and is set up to cater for communal life and the needs of persons who visit us from different parts of the world. With your collaboration brigade members are expected to participate in all of the activities scheduled in the programme; abide by the CIJAM rules; and abide by the norms of good conduct; discipline and communal living, as well as public health measures.
Registration for participants will be open until the 31 March 2023. It is obligatory to provide: participants personal information, details of arrival and departure from Cuba (including dates, times and flight numbers).
For Brigade members who come to Havana before the formal start date of the Brigade, we will put on a transfer bus to get you to the CIJAM. This will leave the ICAP main office on the 23 April 2023 at 17.00 hrs.
To confirm your participation, please send your information to the following email addresses:
eurocentro@icap.cu director.europa@icap.cu and amiventas@amistur.cu
It will give us great pleasure if you are able to join us for these friendship and solidarity activities.
Fraternally,
Ibis Alvisa González
Director of the brigade
Officer of the Europe Division
Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)
