Earlier today in the plenary hall of the Formentera Council, before a crowd comprising representatives from different local associations, councillor of social welfare Vanessa Parellada joined Rosa Cursach, director of the Balearic institute for women (IB-DONA), in a press conference concerning a draft law on equality known in Catalan as la Llei d'Igualtat.  

The councillor expressed her gratitude to Ms Cursach for «coming in person not only to explain the legislative change, but also ask for residents' help in this process». Cursach appealed to the people of Formentera «to take an active role in the drafting of the law». She added: «With acts like this one today, we hope to create a space where that can occur».

From 4:15 to 5:30 this afternoon in the hall of ceremonies (la sala d'Actes) of the department of culture, the two officials will once again present the draft law. The presentation is intended for the benefit of students of an office of social welfare course on integration and anyone else who was unable to come in the morning.

Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer has received a visit from Patricia Gómez, the regional secretary of health, at the CiF's head office in Sant Francesc. Also present at the meeting were CiF councillor of social welfare Vanessa Parellada; Formentera's parliamentarian Sílvia Tur; chief of health services in Eivissa and Formentera Josep Balanzat; and vice director of primary care at Ib-Salut Rosa Duro.

The CiF president levied Ms Gómez for «a dedicated space for Formentera residents at the future health centre and former Can Misses hospital». The idea is to create a place where family members can sleep, shower or change while loved ones are receiving care. «Hospital stays can be longer than anticipated», commented the president. Ferrer took advantage of the opportunity to update his counterpart on the imminent implementation of a GPS-based system for rapidly locating individuals in remote swaths of Formentera who require medical attention.

Ferrer expressed his appreciation for what was Gómez's first official visit to Formentera as health secretary for the Govern. Gómez spoke to the CiF representatives about the improvements planned for the hospital here on Formentera: summer reinforcements for the emergency room and assistance in the form of visiting experts in specialties like neurology, urology and mental health.

Formentera's president Jaume Ferrer and social welfare councillor Vanessa Parellada met today with the mayors of Telpaneca (Bernarda Castillo) and of las Sabanas (Jalmer Ribera), along with the director of a group known as Unidad de Concertación y Cooperación Municipalista, Absalón González, and the coordinator of the Fons Pitiús de Cooperació, Fina Darder.

At the meeting, Formentera's officials were given a first-hand account of exactly which charitable projects in Nicaragua its yearly contribution to the Fons goes to benefit. That assistance, which according to President Ferrer totalled 30,000€ this year, was used to bring water to a group of some one thousand inhabitants near the country's Palacagüina municipality. Before the project, explained Mayor Castillo, those same townspeople were forced to undertake long treks in order to get to the nearest water source.

As member of the Fons, the Formentera Council will continue backing similar projects. On the horizon is another push to bring water to an area with limited access, an initiative Ms Darder says will benefit some 700 villagers. The mayors of the two Nicaragua towns thanked both council members and the entire population of Formentera for all of Formentera's help till present.