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Press Room Newspaper library Culture and Historical heritage The Formentera Council celebrates two civil induction ceremonies

The Formentera Council celebrates two civil induction ceremonies

acolliment noelia web

The Formentera Island Council has overseen two 'acolliments civils' (an act of commencement that grants official recognition to a newborn child's inscription into municipal registers) since an official set of guidelines to that effect was passed at the council's September plenary session.

The president of the public administration is charged with presiding over the ceremony, whose object is to officiate, for children and youth of the island, the beginning of a life of civil action. An 'acolliment civil' is intended to initiate a child's peaceful integration into society, outlining a path defined by indivisible and universal values of human dignity, liberty, equality, justice and solidarity. This is represented by the commitment that parents' must also make to upholding these values. The act of 'acolliment' converts a child into a free citizen with the same rights and duties as the rest of the community.

The civil induction ceremony is not intended to be confessional in nature. Rather, the act is an extension of Formentera's remit as a municipal entity; an exercise of its autonomy and free organisation.

The induction serves as a form of symbolic integration for a newborn into civil society and participation is based on a family's decision to adhere to the established legal framework. The recognition afforded by a child's 'acolliment' is purely administrative and serves only to certify participation in this municipal ceremony.

The ceremony includes a reading of the legislation that defines the child's healthy development in the world, the Spanish state and the autonomous community as well as an inscription of the commitment made by the public administration, the child's parents and the witnesses in attendance to uphold the four basic principles of the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child:
1.    The principle of non-discrimination.
2.    The defence of the child's best interests.
3.    The right to life, survival and development.
4.    The principle of respect of the child's opinion.

Likewise, articles 39.3 and 39.4 of the Spanish constitution and article 16 of the Statutes of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands are read over the course of the ceremony.

Parents and witnesses commit to caring for the child and providing an education regarding the principles of democracy and the child's own rights and duties as a citizen. Likewise, our council declares its induction of the child into a very unique community, Formentera, a community guided by a common ideal: the International Declaration of Human Rights.

An official recorded inscription is made in the Municipal Register upon completion of every civil induction ceremony.

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