The Formentera Office of Citizen Participation has organised a talk on complementary currencies as a tool to promote social cohesion, with specialist Susana Martín Belmonte.

The following topics will be discussed:

- Potential to promote economic and local development.

- Kinds of complementary currencies. Key examples.

- Complementary currencies on Formentera.

It will take place this Wednesday 30 March at 5.30pm in the auditorium next to the Formentera Day Center (Centre de Dia). Admission is free. Reservations are not required. Space is limited.

28 March 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Citizen Participation is pleased to report that during the months of April and May there will be practical workshops to give participants the tools to access government services online.

Workshops will mainly focus on obtaining and using the certificado digital used to sign official documents online, as well as other important points on how associations can engage virtually with government. As such, the classes are intended for board members, who are authorised to take such steps.

The workshops will be for small groups and programmed based on demand in the morning or afternoon/evening. Registrations must be completed by 8 April and are handled via e-mail at participacio@conselldeformentera.cat. Participants will need to bring a personal computer.

Vanessa Parellada, Councillor of Citizen Participation, cast the courses as "a way to help association representatives to obtain their digital certificate to engage with administrations electronically". She added, "This way islanders will be able to complete formalities faster and more easily, without having to travel".
 
Under new rules, correspondence with the Register of Associations of the Balearic Government must be done online. "We're making the most of this situation to enhance islanders' familiarity with digital tools so they can interact with any administration: Balearic, state or Consell de Formentera", said Parellada.

Depending on demand, a list will be kept if there are individuals not in associations who are interested in this training too. To that end, please send requests to participacio@conselldeformentera.cat.

21 March 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Yesterday at 7.30pm the Consell d'Entitats convened for an ordinary session in the Consell de Formentera auditorium, next to the adult day care facility. On the agenda was the first discussion of Participatory Spending in 2022, which was attended by 17 association representatives.

Ana Juan, President of the Consell de Formentera, welcomed the fact that the island's council of associations could meet again to discuss Participatory Spending and more after two years of pandemic. President Juan praised the associations' participation and encouraged them "to present projects for the benefit of the whole island".

Vanessa Parellada, Councillor of Citizen Participation, explained that the session was the first to focus on Participatory Spending in 2022. Councillor Parellada pointed out that the Consell de Formentera had already set aside €325,000, and that that figure would be supplemented with "money for pending participatory budget projects from previous years that are under implementation".

Timeline

As of Wednesday 16 March, associations are invited to submit new projects proposals. Groups may consult with their members and submit proposals until 29 March. Association representatives agreed that the projects presented for the 2020 run of the Participatory Spending initiative, which were upended by the declaration of emergency orders, will be revisited.

On 12 April, the Consell d'Entitats will convene again to present the projects that are most viable according to technical and legal criteria of Consell staff. From 12 to 26 April, associations may vote on the projects through the Citizen Information Office (OAC) and Virtual Citizen Information Office (OVAC). Selected projects will be announced at a third Participatory Spending session on 26 April.

Bartomeu Escandell, Councillor of Economy and Finance, presented the Consell de Formentera's 2022 budget so that the representatives of the associations could have a first-hand idea about its basic lines. However, he stressed that "with the current situation of uncertainty generated by COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, investments will have to be adapted based on how the situation evolves".

Attendees of the session also heard an account of the newest associations to register in the Consell d'Entitats and a review of the status of Participatory Spending projects from previous years. In 2020 and 2021, funding allocations from the Participatory Spending initiative were earmarked for various measures to alleviate the effects of COVID-19. These measures were detailed in the session and association representatives were thanked once again for their generosity.

15 March 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

At 8.00pm yesterday Formentera's council of local associations and entities held its second session where attendees voted on fees and the period of enforcement for formentera.eco, the regulatory scheme to count and cap vehicles brought and driven on the island in summer 2022. The Consell d'Entitats (CdE) voted to extend the regulatory period two weeks, from 15 June to 15 September, and to triple the fees currently in place. Motorists with cars will pay €3 per day and a minimum of €15 while motorcycle drivers must pay €1.50 per day and €7.50 minimum. The arrangement will be approved in the next plenary session of the Consell de Formentera.

Given the restrictions stemming from tier 3 of public health alert, the meeting was held online. Present in the auditorium were Rafael González, Councillor of Mobility; Vanessa Parellada, Councillor of Citizen Participation; the secretary of the gathering and the department specialist of the Formentera Office of Citizen Participation. Ana Juan, President of the Consell de Formentera, as well as association and political party representatives and the local cabinet were able to follow the CdE session online. Eighteen individuals from associations logged on and voted on the proposals together with political party representatives.

President Juan welcomed the involvement, suggestions and contributions of participants during the two sessions, affirming, "They encourage us to keep working to regulate incoming vehicles and achieve the Formentera we all want: an island that is more sustainable and with a better quality of life for residents".

formentera.eco 2022

For his part, the Councillor of Mobility underscored "the broad consensus" that found the majority of association representatives opting to extend the timeline of enforcement as well as to increase formentera.eco fees. Elongated enforcement was adopted with 19 votes for and 3 abstentions, while the proposed tripling of fees received 17 "yes" votes and 3 abstentions, with the 2 remaining voters opting to double fees.

"We hope that this summer the fruits of the regulation will be more palpable and are confident that the current decision by the CdE, together with the 4% lowering of the cap on vehicles, placing us for the first time below 20,000 vehicles, will help us get there", said Councillor González. González expressed hopes that "bicycles, pedestrians and riders of public transport will be increasingly visible, putting an end to the heavy strain caused by vehicles on local roads".

In 2020 in the CdE agreed to carry out a controlled and progressive reduction in the number of vehicles on the island over four years, decreasing 4% each year relative to the ceiling which was set in 2019 and ultimately delivering a reduction of 16% in 2023. In 2022 the decrease will be 12% with respect to the aforementioned ceiling.

Last Tuesday at the first CdE session focused on formentera.eco, participants reviewed and assessed 2021 figures from the scheme to regulate vehicles brought and driven on the island and weighed the proposal for summer 2022. CdE participants had one week to share the proposal with their associates ahead of yesterday's vote.

Reservations in 2022

The summer 2022 bookings portal will go online in the second half of February. The current rate of €1/day for cars (minimum: €5) and €0.50/day for motorcycles and mopeds (minimum: €2.50) will be applied until a modified rate is adopted in April or May. Accreditation will be free for residents of Formentera and the Balearic Islands and individuals with electric vehicles.

Until the bookings website goes online, all accommodation and ferry reservations will guarantee accreditation for reservation holders.

Reinforced controls and new information drives

Next summer control systems will be bolstered. The island currently has cameras in place in La Savina and a mobile camera. In 2022, cameras will be installed at the hospital roundabout; attendants will also monitor parked vehicles, and drivers of rental cars must display information about their rental contract when they park in La Savina.

Before the period of regulatory enforcement, to ensure that all motorists, whether island residents or not, possess the authorisation to drive and park their vehicles on local roads, in May the Consell will pilot an educational push tailored for this purpose.

19 January 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera