• Català
  • Castellano
  • English
Regulació Estany des Peix

News

‘Now more than ever, practise emotional self-care’ campaign offers islanders positive messages

cartell 2021 emo 3Approximately one year into the pandemic, the Consell de Formentera’s new communications push, “Now more than ever, practise emotional self-care”, strives to send islanders positive messages in the form of posters and videos disseminated mostly across social media.

A range of general tips are spotlighted in the campaign’s central poster, which is set for release today along with two more specific messages: the first encourages islanders to exercise and take walks and the second highlights the positive affects of time spent with pets. Other targeted posters to follow will centre on wide-ranging topics such as enjoying the outdoors, maintaining oneself occupied with hobbies, keeping touch with loved ones and following a healthy diet.

Accompanying videos directed by Alfredo Montero and starring regular islanders show the reality of the ongoing situation while holding out messages of encouragement and turning a light on the bright side of things, and of living on an island like Formentera. The first video features one of the biggest names in Formentera sport: Juanjo Escandell.

In recent times many people have felt or are feeling blue, something local premiere Alejandra Ferrer describes as “totally natural given the sustained period of uncertainty that’s turned our world upside down”. “The present campaign is about the power of positive thinking”, she added.

One of the campaign’s crucial points, according to Ferrer, is that not everyone is spending the pandemic in a place where open spaces abound and crowds are minimal. “We also wanted to stress the importance of maintaining social contact”, continued the president, “even if it’s with a mobile phone, or on the computer.” Other key sources of relief by Ferrer’s lights are books, a healthy diet and music. “Essentially we want islanders to be thinking about emotional self-care and thinking positively, because the net impact on our wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around us is positive.” Another crucial message to bear in mind? “We have, through collective sacrifice, overcome hardship again and again throughout history. This time will be no different.”

Click here to see the first video.

3 February 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

campanya emocions general 1

campanya emocions individual 1

campanya emocions individual 2

 

Formentera to direct €630K to hardest hit segments of local business

foto 2021 visita Armengol ajudes febrer 1Alejandra Ferrer, chair of the Consell de Formentera, met today with Balearic first minister Francina Armengol to present a plan to support Formentera businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The two officials were joined by deputy chair and local entrepreneurism and commerce chief Ana Juan and economy and tax office chief Bartomeu Escandell.

Seizing the occasion of a visit to Eivissa by Armengol, the assembled decision makers discussed how to make assistance work for the needs of Formentera’s business community. Emerging from the encounter, Ferrer announced the two administrations would be unlocking €630,000 in support for segments of the community most affected by the crisis. Armengol asserted that the Consell’s “familiarity with on-the-ground needs and realities” meant it was “better equipped than anyone” to administer the particulars of assistance.

The agreements signed will rest on Formentera government’s split authority as island and town council (consell and ajuntament, respectively). As part of the “emergency programme”, the Balearic government has pledged €15m for island councils and €10m for town councils (Formentera will receive €210K in its capacity as the former and €105K as the latter). The island will contribute the same amount as well, for a grand total of €630K in assistance for Formentera’s productive sector.

Ferrer pointed out that the roots of the Consell’s special support for families and small businesses went back to the start of the pandemic. “Formentera will stand by those being battered by the crisis, particularly as highly restrictive measures enter into force to improve the public health situation and slowly restore freedoms and economic activity”, said Ferrer. “Disbursements will privilege businesses and freelancers impacted by the new restrictions”, said the president, “but we will also factor for those affected by the economic fallout from the unusually short season, and for those now gearing up for another crisis still to come, whose ‘how’ and ‘when’ remain unknown.”

1 February 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Getting Formentera up to speed on blue and green zone parking permit renewals

The Formentera Mobility Department reminds islanders that permits to park at no charge in spaces marked with blue or green must be renewed once a year. Department chief Rafael González traced deactivation of the pay-to-park scheme to the March 2020 announcement of emergency orders across the Spanish territory. Metred parking was restored in July, but the Consell opted to extend free-parking rather than contend with a wave of summertime renewals overlapping with peak economic activity and parking demand.

Until now, permits have been automatically renewed whether a motorist took any specific action or not. From this Monday, 1 February, the process is no longer automatic, and the renewal procedure will be mandatory for any motorist who hasn’t already completed it at some point over the last 12 months. Renewals are effective within twenty-four hours.

To cut down on face-to-face visits, the Consell encourages islanders to process permit renewals online by visiting this link and clicking on Tràmits i gestions > Llicències i permisos > Sol•licitud d’autorització / renovació d’autorització de zona blava - verda. For additional inquiries, call the Consell at 971 32 10 87.

Explained Councillor González, “During the first half of February parking attendants will prioritise educating motorists about renewals. For now the top priority is making sure permits are up to date.”

30 January 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Youth centre tailors in-person and virtual activities to Enhanced Tier 4 of Public Health Alert

As Formentera enters Enhanced Tier 4 of public health alert, the Formentera Youth Department reports that activities at the Casal de Joves have been adapted to facilitate compliance with new rules. Staff at the currently open and operational youth drop-in spot came up with targeted protocol in June when the Casal reopened, and since that time visitors have upheld measures in line with the mandates of public health authorities.

With the activation of Tier 4 protocol, the building’s indoor and outdoor capacity was limited to six. That figure remains unchanged as Formentera toggles to the reinforced form of Tier 4, with preference given to outdoor activities and virtual programming. Online activities began under the name «Casal Viral» as stay-at-home orders were first enacted last year.

“Keeping the Casal open is more important than ever”, said FYD chair Vanessa Parellada. She pointed up the current ban on gatherings between individuals from different households and said the Casal was hardly different from schools in that it is a “safe, controlled environment where youth can participate in leisure activities while respecting safety measures”.

Activities
Every Wednesday, sometimes in person at the Casal and sometimes online with Casal Viral, youth can catch a film or documentary on wide-ranging topics like feminism or humour in the age of Covid. Next weekend there will be face-to-face workshops on painting and pottery. Masks, social distancing, hand-washing and common sense are all required.

What better occasion than Valentine’s Day to reflect on the importance of teenage love, friendships and affective-sexual relationships (not to mention, adds Parellada, to deconstruct the myth of romantic love)? The Casal’s Valentine’s Day programming takes place 13 February.

Other online activities this February include a contest where participants are encouraged to submit their finest sports-related snapshots, together with an afternoon of monologues. The Casal de Joves opens from 4.00pm to 9.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. The closing time was brought forward at the start of Tier 4 orders to facilitate compliance with the curfew from 10.00pm to 6.00pm.

1 February 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Public health at fore of Formentera’s January plenary

Foto ple gener 2021 1At the Consell de Formentera’s January full-house assembly today, participants connected virtually for an encounter that was largely characterised by public health measures related to the ongoing pandemic. GxF-PSOE cabinet members won cross-party backing on their first proposal, a measure dealing with Covid-19 vaccines.

First councillor and tourism chief Alejandra Ferrer defended the initiative, which found local decision makers pressing the central government to continue work with the European Union around international agreements to expedite production and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, key to guaranteeing sufficient levels of local immunity and reactivating island tourism.

Councillors prodded officials in Madrid and Palma to ensure nationwide immunity levels necessary to restoring free and safe movement between the distinct Spanish regions and restarting national tourism as soon as possible. They highlighted the importance of creating safe corridors, increasing Formentera’s competitiveness as a destination spot and putting travellers in a position to get here safely.

Civil law on Eivissa and Formentera
Assembly members struck unity on a joint GxF-PSOE cabinet and Sa Unió proposal regarding fair taxation of civil law succession agreements involving the personal income tax (IRPF). In the words of economy and tax office councillor Bartomeu Escandell, “our islands’ civil law must be respected”.

In defence of the measure and vis-à-vis a draft bill on combatting tax fraud currently under congressional review, councillors asked the central government to jettison proposed changes to an article of related legislation from 2006, and otherwise block any part of the Spanish constitution, the Balearic Statute of Autonomy, or legislation recognised by the regional government and parliament that perverts the capacity of local institutions to act on civil and fiscal measures. The Consell de Formentera urges the government and parliament of the Balearic Islands to defend diversity of local institutions as enshrined in the Balearic Compilation of Civil Law, namely agreements currently facing fiscal reform by the central government.

Fibre-optic connections
Cabinet councillors and the opposition came together to support a proposal to make fibre-optic connections available across the island. New technologies councillor Vanessa Parellada defended the measure, pointing to such technologies newfound importance since the start of the Covid crisis: “New technologies have enabled remote work, put families in a position to balance work and family and created new ways of socialising, gathering and sharing information”. The councillor said fibre-optic technology was to thank for “significant leaps forward in terms of universal Internet access on Formentera”, while insisting there were certain parts of the island that “continued to trail behind”. Councillors called on relevant administrations and companies to extend fibre-optic connections to every home, business, bar, restaurant, hotel and tourist establishment on the island.

Formentera, zero-waste municipality
Assembly members struck unity on backing for Formentera’s membership in the ‘Programme to Certify Zero-Waste Municipalities’. While underscoring recent circular economy initiatives such as the pallet and bicycle reuse programme at the household waste recycling centre, environment councillor Antonio J Sanz said still more remained to be done, and trumpeted efforts like the Zero-Waste Municipality programme, “which strive to cut waste and use resources in more efficient ways”.

After tweaking by cabinet councillors, one Sa Unió-backed measure to receive unanimous support involved extending the validity of holiday rental registrations into 2021 — a measure which built on the success of a similar Consell-led initiative earlier in the pandemic.

Public health proposals
One more Sa Unió proposal to win cross-party backing after modifications by cabinet councillors was a message to the Balearic government reiterating the need for urgent action to secure mass voluntary screenings with rapid antigen tests to pinpoint Covid-19 cases on the island.

In yet another unanimous vote, assembly members asked the Balearic government to increase the island’s Covid-19 services and accelerate funding to establish a local base for 061 emergency response service, including an additional plea for special resources to tackle simultaneous emergencies. Social welfare councillor Rafael Ramírez defended the measure, which was brokered by cabinet councillors and the opposition, insisting that “Formentera residents deserve a decent service just as much as islanders elsewhere in the Balearics”. Ramírez additionally pointed out that the region’s 2021 spending plan included a budget line item for creation of emergency response infrastructure on Formentera. The councillor concluded by insisting that “public services like education and healthcare that ensure equality need to be built up, not cut back”.

Unanimous backing materialised yet again around a cross-party call to require negative Covid-19 test results of all inter-island travellers. Once Formentera’s “perimetric sealing-off” is lifted and while certain islands remain in situations of risk, councillors asked the Balearic government to take steps to implement identical controls to those which visitors from outside the archipelago are already subject to.

Official proclamation on World Cancer Day
The January plenary concluded with a special proclamation marking World Cancer Day on 4 February. In the words of social welfare councillor Rafael Ramírez, “the crisis succeeding the pandemic has done nothing if not exacerbate the social and healthcare precariousness that people with cancer and their families endure already”. According to Ramírez, the Consell “supports cancer research because it is an essential part of the fight, and applauds the ongoing commitment and efforts of all the associations and groups accompanying those affected by cancer”.

29 January 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

More Articles...

Page 174 of 403

174

Media

Gabinet de Premsa


971 32 10 87 - Ext: 3181
premsa@conselldeformentera.cat