• Català
  • Castellano
  • English

XI Annual Intercultural Day

intercultural2013 web

The counsellor of Social Welfare, Youth and Equality of the Island Council of Formentera, Dolores Fernández, presented today the plan for the XI Annual Formentera Intercultural Day, to be held next Sunday, 14 April, at the Mestre Lluís Andreu Primary School.

This year's celebration will include the participation of 13 countries: Morocco, Brazil, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Romania, Colombia, Chile, Italy, Paraguay, Peru, Cuba and Uruguay. And like every year, also present will be several of the Autonomous Communities of Spain: Andalucia, Extremadura, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Galicia. The stands will offer gastronomic sampling while children's activities and musical and folkloric performances will present the peculiarities of each region and country.

The admission charged for entry this year remains at 4 euros, except for children under 12, who get in free. Like every edition of the annual celebration, packs will be provided with all the necessary supplies for sampling food, although the Formentera Office of Social Welfare also wishes to encourage attendees to bring eating utensils from home to collaborate in the preservation of the environment. Food sampling is expected to take place between 2 and 3:30 pm.

Afterwards, those in attendance will have the opportunity to enjoy the large variety of cultural and folkloric presentations, which will include bagpipes (gaites), Cappoeira, and the local island dance (ball pagès), to name three. This year's performances will be marked by some surprises.

The day will begin at approximately 11:30 a.m. with children's workshops and activities like Slack Line (where participants must balance walking atop a rope) gladiators, masks, cutouts and other traditional games. All of the activities have been organised by the day counsellors at the Youth Centre (Casal de Joves), who have themselves been assisted by students doing day counsellor work practise.

New this year will be a performance at the end of the celebration by the music group Chimichurri. The collaboration of different associations and volunteers has been very important to the festival's organisation this year. The high level of implication by the various communities contributes to the celebration's on-going success and helps accomplish the Office of Social Welfare's goal of organising a event where the integration on display represents the multicultural society that exists on our island.

The Intercultural Day is not only a cultural party with gastronomic and artistic samplings, it is also an occasion to take part in and enjoy a process of group work, communication and dialogue, thus generating relationships of trust, cooperation and personal, mutual and social enrichment, facilitating the integration of the different cultures present here with the host country. It is, namely, a chance to practice social participation and integration. This year both the users of the Day Centre and the children of the Youth Centre have collaborated in preparing decorations for the celebration.

This party is possible thanks to the work and support of all the immigrant groups, associations and participating volunteers, who each year dedicate their efforts to the organisation of a day to be spent with family members and with the people of Formentera at large. The day's success is due to the efforts made, the collaboration offered, and the generosity showed by everyone.