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Month-long activities programme puts children and teens in spotlight

dia-universal-infancia-2019 v2The youth department of the Consell de Formentera unveiled its programming for the yearly Universal Children’s Day celebrations on 20 November. All month long there will be activities specially-tuned for children and teens, commemorating sixty years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child and thirty since the passing of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

The consellera for youth, Vanessa Parellada, pointed out “the convention establishes a series of rights for boys and girls, including inalienable ones concerning life, health, education and protection from violence and discrimination”. “But there are more, and they’re often overlooked: the right to play, to a family, to have one’s opinions heard”, said Parellada. “Each one of us—parents, educational and health professionals, political leaders, businesses, civil society and media—has a key part to play promoting the welfare of children”, she proclaimed, “and wide-ranging programmes like the one we present today are an example”.

The first activity took place last Tuesday, 5 November, when 219 students from Marc Ferrer high school tuned in for the third “Vívete”, an initiative launched by Proyecto Juntos to foster reflections about attitudes, values and emotions. The event featured Miriam Fernández, Juan Pablo Escobar and Irene Villa—three people who have made it through extremely trying experiences and today share their insight about coming out on the other side. The day-long gathering unfolded on the Eivissa fair grounds. The Baleària company picked up the bill for transport.

Next up, on Saturday 9 November, Formentera Dojo is organising Judo sense barreres ("Judo without borders”) at the Poliesportiu Antoni Blanc. The activity runs from 10.00am to 2.00pm.

Also included in the programme is the dance production, later at 6.00pm in the Sala de Cultura, of Malebable. Geared towards children aged zero to five, Malebable is part of the Department of Culture programme Illa a Escena. To attend, contact cultura@conselldeformentera.cat.

Formentera Marxa
Formentera Marxa is contributing to the activities programme too, first with a workshop for kids aged four to nine at the Sant Ferran Punt de Lectura. On Tuesday 12 November, Cada pollo con su rollo will go from 5.00pm to 7.00pm, using games to teach about the fundamental rights of youth as the world celebrates thirty years since the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

On Thursday 14 November, the Sant Ferran school playground will be the site of a workshop about childhood and functional diversity. From 5.00pm to 7.00pm, children and youth will learn about functional diversity through traditional games and sport.

Wednesday 13 November comes with a 6.00pm screening of Bend It Like Beckham in the Casal de Joves. Couch and popcorn are provided.

Discussion groups
Another part of the programme aims to offer parents and teaching staff tools and a shared and dedicated space devoted to child rearing—whether the goal is an improved relationship with one’s child, or an answer to a particular question. The first gathering—titled Nens bons i dolents: El perill de les etiquetes (“Good and bad kids: The danger of labels”) and moderated by Alberto Soler, is scheduled for 14 November.

Then, on 28 November, Andreu Alba asks the question Is Fortnite recreation... or an addiction? Both events are organised by Formentera’s offices of education and social welfare at 5.00pm in the Centre de Dia conference room (Sala de Plens). Childcare will be provided.

On 19 November it’s fun for the whole family with Dansa en família. From 4.00pm to 5.00pm at Poliesportiu Antoni Blanc.

Participants of a 20 November discussion will join Belén Alvite in trying to answer the question, Is porn the best sexual education? The talk is presented by Formentera’s equality department and Espai Dones, and takes place at 6.00pm in the administration’s Sala d’Actes.

Parlament infantil
Running parallel to World Children’s Day on 20 November, members of the island’s Youth Participatory Council will visit the regional parliament—the Parlament balear—for the eighth Children’s Parliament. Formentera pupils are in charge of this year’s chairpersonship.

A manifesto will be read at the event to encourage administrations to work together to comply with it. The commemoration is even more special this year because it overlaps with the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children.

Other activities
A calligraphy workshop is scheduled to take place on 20 November as well. The activity will take place in the Sant Ferran Punt de Lectura from 5.00pm, and is included in the activities programme.

On Saturday, the swimming pool of Poliesportiu Antoni Blanc will host an open day. From 10.00am and 1.30pm, there will be water games, aquafitness and diving activities. The day is made possible by Formentera’s sport department and Formentera Divers.

And at 6.00pm that same evening, the Sala de Cultura welcomes Mobil, a children’s circus production that is also part of the culture department’s Illa a Escena programme.

Youth plenary
On 26 November, participants in the Consell’s Youth Participatory Council will hold the group’s full-house assembly. Twice yearly plenaries such as this one are aimed at boosting participation among island children and youth in local policies, taking into full consideration their capacity to form opinions and express themselves.

Fridays for Future
Friday 29 November, youth from the Casal de Joves and Formentera Marxa will head to the beach to learn first-hand about the impacts of climate change.

Poetry contest
Finally, on Saturday 30 November, comes the Art Jove-Salvador Ibarra poetry contest. The event will be held in the Sala de Cultura from 8.30pm. Art Jove is a cultural programme backed by IB-Jove (Balearic Youth Institute) and aimed at promoting free and effective participation among Balearic youth as they develop culture. It aims to boost artistic creativity through different contests, awards and a multiplicity of artistic displays. The poetry finals will be held on Formentera.


7 November 2019
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera

Es Pastorells take show to Gran Canaria

colla-es-pastorellsjThis weekend, local dance troupe Es Pastorells took part in a music-themed gathering on Gran Canaria. Joined at the encounter by Canary Islands groups Facaracas and Acataifa, the Formentera dancers demonstrated typical ball pagès footwork, marking the repayment of a visit by the Canarian dancers in March, when they came to attend our island’s second Festival Folklòric.

The Consell de Formentera covered the group’s travel costs to Gran Canaria. Culture department chief Susana Labrador said: “We support cultural exchange among our dance troupes because it’s a way to continue spreading the message and promoting one of Formentera’s most valuable immaterial treasures”.


4 November 2019
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera

November of book launches and kids’ storytime at Formentera libraries

biblios-nov-19-xarxes-1-Formentera’s culture department has unveiled local libraries’ November activities calendar—a programme replete with four book launches and as many activities specially-tuned for kids.

Book launches
Tomorrow (Wednesday 6 November), Bernat Joan will be on hand to discuss his book Pedagogia per a indígenes. The Obra Cultural Balear-sponsored event is the first of several book launches in November, and will be moderated by Maria Teresa Ferra. Much like the tales of Pere Calders, the book is an assemblage of microstories, inspired in real events that the author weaves into literature. Joan is in it for the critical pleasure of the writing process, and out to share it with audiences.

Friday 8 November comes with a closeup on De qui venim. The book’s authors, Hermínia Gil and Josep Maria Garcia-Borés (Garcia-Borés also directed and coordinated the project), will be on hand for the event, which is hosted by Formentera’s patrimony office together with Biblioteca Marià Villangómez, with moderation duties handled by Jaume Escandell. A work of psychocultural research on traditional Formentera, the book is an expression of oral history, giving the island’s elderly a voice as they recall details of the way our forebears lived and interacted.

Monday 18 November will bring the second of two book launches focused on Història d’Eivissa i Formentera: des de la prehistòria fins al turisme de masses. Felip Cirer, Benjamí Costa, Antoni Ferrer Abárzuza and Joan Lluís Ferrer wrote the book (Ferrer coordinated), and all four will on hand for the event. The book casts its gaze back 4,200 years to the first human settlements in the Pine Islands, continuing on to a fascinating look at the lives of our ancestors, before concluding with the current process of mass tourism. The work marks an unprecedented attempt to set down a comprehensive history of Eivissa and Formentera; it is the collective biography of the two island's peoples.

Lastly, on Wednesday 27 November, Bartomeu Escandell will present his twelfth collection of poetry, Les incapacitats: Proposta d’argument. Moderated by Maria Teresa Ferrer, the event will also feature readings of poetry by the author and Joan Ferrer as well as a performance by students of the Escola de Música. The event is organised by the Formentera chapter of Obra Cultural Balear and Biblioteca Marià Villangómez.

Book launches will take place at 8.00pm at Biblioteca Marià Villangómez

Storytime and activities for kids
Today, Tuesday 5 November, marks the return of a storytime activity perfect for children ages zero to four. Contes per parlar amb la lluna unfolds from 5.30pm at Biblioteca Marià Villangómez on the first Tuesday of the month until December. Families keen to attend should send an email to biblioteca@conselldeformentera.cat to sign up.

Storytime hits again at the same time and same place on Wednesday 13 November, this time with Myotragus Theatre’s Lluís Valenciano performing El senyor dels contes. “The lord of the tales” is a bookshop owner whose roots in the Balearics run deep: born on Mallorca, he has family on Menorca and lives between Eivissa and Formentera. He recounts the fables, or rondalles, of the Es Vedrà giant (from Eivissa), Mestre Gelabert (Menorca) and Pere festejador (Mallorca), not to mention the legendary tresor de Formentera. Taken together, the stories are a faithful glimpse of the value- and tradition-steeped popular culture of the Balearic Islands. Presented by Biblioteca Marià Villangómez.

On Wednesday 20 November at 5.00pm, the Sant Ferran Punt de Lectura will host a workshop on artistic calligraphy for children aged three to twelve (parents must accompany children under seven). Led by Maria Vila and presented by Biblioteca Marià Villangómez, the event is aimed at spotlighting calligraphy, from composition to expression within the worlds of art and design. In addition to taking part in a theory-based portion, participants will be encouraged to find their own style by trying their hand at a range of calligraphic styles.

The final storytime of the programme, the English-language Goldilocks, comes to Biblioteca Marià Villangómez on Thursday 28 November at 5.30pm. Elàstic Nou Productions’ Mary Ramirez will lead the interactive event, which is geared towards children aged three to eight and presented by Biblioteca Marià Villangómez.

The event features the by-now-familiar Millie Potter, who takes listeners on a trip to the fictional world of Goldilocks. Based on the popular tale, the adventures start when the perhaps too curious Goldilocks steps out for a walk in the woods and stumbles on an enchanting house. Compelled by her obsessive sense of curiosity, Goldilocks barges in and snoops around... and all of a sudden, finds she's not alone. Just who's arrived? A family of bears! The problems are only beginning for our mischievous protagonist.

31 October 2019
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera

210 Catalan-language learners enrol in Consell de Formentera’s adult learning programme

cursos-catala--1The Consell de Formentera’s department for language policy and the Language Advisory Service (Servei d’Assessorament Lingüístic, or SAL) announce enrolment has concluded for the first module of the offices’ 2019-2020 offering of Catalan courses for adults. Two-hundred and ten islanders have signed up to take part in morning, afternoon or night classes in one of five levels (two A2 groups, two B1, two B2, two C1/C2).

Classes have been in session since mid-October and are geared towards prepping students for the January 2020 round of exams administered by the language policy arm of the Balearic government.

Formentera’s language policies consellera, Raquel Guasch, proclaimed “our administration stresses training because it’s key to fomenting people’s use of the language”, and described the response to the courses as “extremely encouraging”.

After beginners’ level lessons (A2), the second-most popular course is B1. Typical students have studied some Catalan already and passed the official A2 exam.

31 October 2019
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera

“Malebable” takes local young'uns on journey of senses

malebable-19-975x650-1-The culture arm of the Consell de Formentera reports that local audiences will get their chance to see Malebable, a work of dance and theatre for children, on Saturday 9 November. The production features Basque choreographer-dancer Helen Lizari Malebable, who, on a trip in an imaginary vehicle, experiences the transformation of materials through textures and touch.

The show is geared towards children aged zero to five and will take shape in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema) on Saturday 9 November at 6.00pm. Space is limited, so attendees must reserve in advance by sending an email to cultura@conselldeformentera.cat. Admission for children costs €5; adults get in free.

Creation workshops
In addition to the stage production, on Friday 8 November, Lizari will offer two- and three-year-olds of Sa Miranda and Camí Vell nurseries a dance workshop tuned to creation and experimentation. Then, that afternoon, she’ll lead students of the Escola de Música i Dansa (School of Music and Dance) in a master class.

Education and culture councillor Susana Labrador invited parents and families of island tots to see and enjoy the renowned production, saying she was “thrilled” that “children at our nurseries and students of the music school have the chance to take part in a creative dance initiative led by the woman in charge herself”.

Aside from her work as a choreographer and dancer, Lizari is also a professor of movement and motor skills and holds a bachelor’s in theories and analysis of movement as well as studies in dance and interpretation from AHK in Amsterdam. She has studied alongside Jeremy Nelson, Stephen Petronius, Meg Stuart, David Zambrano, Trisha  Brown, Merce Cunningham Company, Wim Vanderkeybus, Anne Teresa (Keersmaeker), Lloyd Newson (DV8), Susan Klein and Stephanie Skura, and others. Over her many years in contemporary dance Lizari has been both a creator and educator.

Malebable comes to Formentera thanks to PLATEA, a programme of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport’s National Institute of Musical and Performing Arts (INAEM). The programme is aimed at bringing island audiences top-tier programming from the national theatre circuit.

Malebable is a coproduction of Mercat de les Flors in collaboration with the El Més Petit de Tots festival and L’Estruch de Sabadell (Ajuntament de Sabadell) and is included in the Consell de Formentera’s L’Illa a Escena programme.

30 October 2019
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera

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