·Three weeks of cultural, leisure and educational activities, including Intercultural Festival on 2 April

Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera; Rafael Ramírez, social welfare councillor; Noelia González, director of the immigration service, and Manolo Oya presented Formentera Intercultural 2023, an initiative encompassing the day-long Festa Intercultural, which this year turns 18 on 2 April.

Said President Juan, "in recent decades our island has become a different, more plural and diverse society, with people from other backgrounds, cultures and customs. Sixty-six different nationalities live together on Formentera and with this plurality comes a duty and responsibility –on the part of society at large, social entities and public authorities– to spearhead measures and actions around mutual understanding and promote coexistence." As President Juan put it, "this is the motivation behind Intercultural Formentera, which marks an impulse towards a more mature, supportive and welcoming community."

A space for reflection
For his part, Councillor Ramírez offered that "Formentera Intercultural is about providing islanders with a space to reflect on migration, inequalities, integration and coexistence with a varied programme for a diverse public." The councillor additionally asserted that "one of the main goals was to bring certain realities to the educational community, particularly young people, with direct witnesses, to speak to multiple paradigms, among them racial discrimination."

Formentera Intercultural "is also about offering a space worthy of our current migratory drama, and emphasising our commonalities, which draw us closer", said Ramírez.

The programme –the product of months-long preparation by the Immigration Service, with collaboration from Manolo Oya– includes cultural, recreational educational activities. The image of Formentera Intercultural is the work of artist Sean Mackaoui. Related actions will run from 20 March and 5 April.

Programming
Monday 20 March. Exhibition: Migrants on Formentera. Monday 20 March to Saturday 1 April at Sala d'Exposicions "Ajuntament Vell". Exhibition on the Formentera of emigrants in the past, the welcoming Formentera of today and a place of passage for migrations to Europe.

Friday 24 March. Radio talk show. Ràdio Illa Tertùlia: Venc de fora i som formenterenc, first-hand experiences.

Tuesday 28 March to Friday 31 March. World cuisines workshop. Gastronomic afternoons with workshops where participants learn how to prepare dishes from Morocco, Romania, China and Colombia. At IES Marc Ferrer.

22, 25 and 29 March. Film Forum at the Casal de Joves + Holi party Cinema. Forum on anti-racism, cooperation and coexistence + Holi party.

Thursday and Friday, 30-31 March, talks by Moha Gerehou, expert in anti-racist outreach. Thursday 30 March at 8.00pm in Casa del Poble (La Mola) [for general public] and Friday 31 March at 11.00am in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema) [for pupils, years five and six].

Sunday 2 April. Festa Intercultural, 12.30pm to 7.00pm, at Plaça d'Europa (Es Pujols). A popular celebration with gastronomic samplings from various countries and Spanish autonomous communities, performances by local dance groups, concert by Latino jazz band Timba Tumbet, and a concert by singer Lia Kali to round off the festival.

Tuesday 4 April. Presentation of "Tres días en la arena", Ibrahim Bah's book chronicling his migratory journey, at 8.00pm in Casa del Poble (La Mola). Attendees will also screen a video of a performance by Bah.

Wednesday 5 April. Theatre: "El Rei del Gurugú" and closing colloquium with the participation of Ibrahim Bah at Sala de Cultura-Cinema. 11.00am (for pupils at IES Marc Ferrer) and 8.00pm (for general public).

27 February 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

The Office of Culture of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that next Monday, 6 March, a children's painting workshop and tribute to Maria Moliner will mark the first Libraries of Formentera activity commemorating International Women's Day. The event will take place at 5.00pm at the Sant Ferran Reading Spot (Punt de Lectura) and be led by local artist Fran Lucas.

Workshop participants will use various painting techniques to create a mural in homage to Maria Moliner. To start, they will be treated to a simple and entertaining introduction to this grand figure in the field of literature. Moliner was an important archivist, philologist and lexicographer who single-handedly wrote the best Spanish dictionary ever used in education. An eminent voice on the literary scene, she dedicated her life to education, culture and reading at a time when females in those fields were woefully undervalued.

The main objective of this workshop is for children to discover Maria Moliner and the values she stood for. Participants' creativity will flourish as they work in the larger, mural format, with a free space to create upon previously etched images.

Lecture and presentation of poetry books
The second activity is geared toward adult audiences. «Una tarde con Rocio Madrid» is a compendium of talks and poetry book presentations by writer, photographer, feminist and LGTBIQ+ activist Rocio Madrid. This event will be held at Marià Villangómez Library, Thursday 16 March, at 7.30pm.

27 February 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

The Office of Culture of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that Ángela Cervantes, together with double bass player Manel Fortià and violinist and percussionist Carlos Montfort, will come to Formentera to present the singer's most recent release, Arrels d'Ara. The concert, which will mark Formentera's celebration of Balearic Islands Day (Dia de les Illes Balears), will unfold in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema) on Saturday 4 March from 7.30pm.

Arrels d'Ara has its origins in spring 2022, when Cervantes set out to rediscover her voice through the folklore of her native Eivissa, defying borders as she blended it with universal sounds and contemporary jazz.

As Cervantes explains, "Arrels d'Ara is a journey inward, to recover, rediscover and reinterpret my personal songbook, grafted from the songs that have marked me." It represents the singer's will to return to a timeless repertoire with a voice from the present. It is a reunion of language and traditions. The elevation of her people's culture, demanding it with the urgency of the present, and singing to our children with a voice from the past.

On this shared journey, the singer is joined by Manel Fortià and Carlos Montfort – two fellow travellers who, like Cervantes, drink from the sources of tradition, constant curiosity and experimentation without filters or barriers.

Prices and tickets
Tickets are available on www.entradesformentera.cat for €7. Unemployed people, under-employed freelancers, retirees, under-25s, people with functional diversity, single-parent families and large families pay half price.

24 February 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

The Office of Culture of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that from 8.30pm, Wednesday 1 March, in commemoration of Balearic Islands Day (Dia de les Illes Balears), Barcelona-born playwright Catalina Florit will direct Menorcan actor Àlvar Triay in Nomeolvides. This play is geared towards adult audiences.

The story starts with a nephew remembering an uncle who died some years ago. In tribute, he embarks on a journey of his relative's life and, without realising it, becomes the object of a story in which lightness and darkness are two partners in a dance during life's most complicated moments.

Partially autobiographical, the piece was written by Triay during lockdown. He built it upon proposals put forward by Catalina Florit and interviews in his town to suss out opinions about him and his uncle. At the heart of the story are hidden stories and secrets, the kind that the family keeps quiet but that small towns keep alive.

Prices and tickets
Tickets are available now at www.entradesformentera.cat for €7. Unemployed people, under-employed freelancers, retirees, under-25s, people with functional diversity, single-parent families and large families pay half price.

22 February 2023
Office of Communications
Consell de Formentera