The Formentera Council and the seniors' club of la Mola (Associació de Majors del Pilar de la Mola) will form a partnership to oversee programming at la Casa del Poble, the town's social centre. According to the terms of the agreement, signed earlier today by CiF president Jaume Ferrer and Associació president Jaume Escandell, the Council will grant the seniors' club use of the centre for the planning of cultural and social events. The club will also receive a yearly sum of €6,000 to cover a portion of the cultural centre's operating costs.
Until now the seniors' club has been in charge of a part of la Casa del Poble programming, but under the new partnership agreement, the Associació de Majors will oversee all of the activities at the centre except the computer lab and office space the Council uses to manage island initiatives. According to Ferrer, the new partnership is a direct response to requests made by residents of the area. Escandell expressed his gratitude for what he sees as a vote of confidence from the Council and promised the local social centre will soon see more programming, not just for la Mola residents, but for the island at large. Councillor of social services Vanessa Parellada was also present at the signing. She stressed that strong local associations like the Associació de Majors are an important to the island and crucial to ensuring a vibrant local community in la Mola.
The festivities department of the Formentera Council unveiled details today behind this summer's round of open-air, sixties- and seventies-themed dance parties known as “Flowers”. After the Saturday, June 18 kick-off in la Mola, the party picks up again on July 9 in Es Pujols and concludes with one of the series' most eagerly-awaited: the Flower accompanying Sant Francesc's Festes de Sant Jaume, on Saturday, July 23.
The doors opened today at Madrid’s International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR), where the Formentera Council was ready to show would-be Spanish tourists the door that forms the heart of the island’s patrimony. By promoting our outdoor attributes, the Council hopes to appeal to Spanish travelers, a group that over the last three years has even begun surpassing Italians in numbers at certain periods of the season. Tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer explains: «The national market helps us fill out our numbers in the pre- and post-season. It also happens to be the closest one to us geographically and getting away to Formentera for a few days is more feasible for them».
Earlier today, the 515 pupils of Formentera’s three primary schools all attended a talk entitled Aid and solidarity in the Third World by Javier Colomo, president of the NGO Amigos Solidarios. The talk was given three times at the Sant Francesc cinema. Councillor of sport Jordi Vidal explained, «the children were able to get an in-depth look at what aid and solidarity are all about, and learn how they can get involved and help out the less fortunate».
The Pi des Català tower (la torre des Pi des Català) will be closed this month and next to allow holiday time-off for staff. From March the site will be reopened to the public every Saturday morning from ten a.m. to one midday, as was the case in October and December. According to the CiF councillor of patrimony, Susana Labrador, «after seeing the public’s response last summer» – when the tower was open Thursday afternoons from five to seven – «the decision was made to extend public visiting hours into winter, with a slight change». Looking ahead, Councillor Labrador says after the break the intention is «to reopen the tower so more people can continue discovering this important local heritage site».