Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, received Rafa Ruiz, mayor of Eivissa, in a meeting where the two discussed regulating incoming cruise ships on Eivissa and their potential impact on Formentera. President Juan cast the Ajuntament d'Eivissa's proposed reorganisation as "an admirable initiative because it can relieve the strain of one-day visitors that we have on Formentera in the middle of summer and will distribute these tourists in the pre- and post-season months." Juan asserted that "working to regulate their arrival is beneficial both for the tourists themselves and the companies on the island that cater to them."

In this regard, Mayor Ruiz said that the Ajuntament d'Eivissa's proposal "is being worked on together with the business sector and environmental associations" and that "the Pimeef [Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Eivissa and Formentera] will study the impact of cruise ship tourism on the neighbouring island", adding, "It is very important that all administrations and stakeholders work together on this reordering."

6 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

13 May, Menorcan Guiem Soldevila will also present his latest effort to Barnasants crowds on Formentera

Collaboration between Barnasants and the Consell Insular de Formentera means that this year the singer-songwriters Mireia, Paz Aguado and Imaràntia (Maria José Cardona) will present their new projects in Barcelona, València, Mallorca, Eivissa and Menorca as part of the festival

In spring, the island of Eivissa will host two Barnasants concerts as well

The Office of Culture of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that, following Paco Ibáñez's recital marking the Formentera opening of the fifth Barnasants Networked Culture Project on 4 February, the festival heads into spring with three presentations of works by Formentera artists in the territories of Catalan language and culture.

Mireia, Formentera's rising star
One name took the Balearic musical scene by storm in 2022. Last April, Mireia – stage name of the Catalan singer-songwriter Mireia Farré Canela, who has called Formentera home for more than a decade – released her Leo Pascual-produced début effort, Somriuen les deixalles, with top musicians like Pep Pascual, Maria Rodés and Natxo Tarrés. This first album was included among Enderrock magazine's Best Catalan Albums of 2022. With the singer's punk-naïf tone and elegant non-conformism in tow, Mireia and her usual lineup of musicians arrive at Barnasants to unveil the new EP Marge de millora. The singer-songwriter will tour Mallorca (11 March, Sa Pobla), Menorca (12 March, Maó), València (CCC Octubre, 31 March) and Barcelona (Harlem Jazz Club, 2 April).

Paz Aguado, a singer-songwriter with subtlety
The Valencian singer-songwriter and Formentera resident Paz Aguado will present her self-released début album Materia sutil (2022) to the crowds of Barnasants. Aguado will play the disc for the first time on Mallorca (18 March, Sa Pobla) and Menorca (19 March, Maó), and in València (CCC Octubre, 24 March) and Barcelona (Harlem Jazz Club, 25 March). She will bring her warm, vitalist and psychedelic poetry, which sings of nature, the feminine and subtlety. Aguado, a multidisciplinary artist in addition to singer-songwriter, will show her combination of musical creation and visual arts to audiences on Formentera.

Imaràntia, a tribute to UC
The duo formed by Formentera's own Maria José Cardona (vocals and guitar) and Miquel Brunet (piano) of Mallorca will present RetrUc, which offers the pair's take on the music of Eivissa and Formentera. By way of appreciation and acknowledgment of the three founding members of the group UC, Imaràntia's latest work delves into that group's musical catalogue. Retaining every ounce of their original vitality, captivating melodies and lyrics are now presented in Imaràntia's characteristic intimate and heartrending key. They will be accompanied by Eduard Riera on violin and Pep Lluís Garcia on drums and percussion. The shows will unfold 16 April in Bunyola (Mallorca) and 29 April in Santa Eulària.

Barnasants and Formentera
For the Barnasants Networking Culture Project, Formentera is an essential point on the cultural map of singer-songwriters. "So it is with great satisfaction that the festival renews its agreement with the Consell Insular de Formentera for a fifth consecutive year", affirmed the organisers. Vanessa Parellada, culture councillor, explained that this agreement "allows us to bring the songs of other Catalan-speaking areas to Formentera, and to ensure that the voices of Formentera are heard farther afield."

In a renewal of the collaboration that began last year between Barnasants and the Formentera chapter of Obra Cultural Balear, artist Guiem Soldevila will also present his latest disc on 12 May. The Menorcan singer-songwriter will come to the smaller Pine Island to present Intimari, his fifth album, which the label Satellite K released in early 2023. The new album finds Soldevila playing music by poets such as Màrius Torres, Ponç Pons, Sonia Moll and Ausiàs March, with a style intertwining and fusing folk and pop with electronic and Mediterranean atmospheres. The concert will take place 13 May in Sant Francesc. The day before, 12 May, Soldevila will also present the work to Barnasants crowds on Eivissa.

A round trip
From the start, the Barnasants philosophy has been to forge a network of spaces in the Catalan language and cultural territory, allowing local artists to take their work farther afield. Hence, year after year Formentera venues host names from off the island while the voices of Formentera ring out in the venues of Mallorca, Menorca, València and Catalunya.

6 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

The Office of Culture of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to announce that it has programmed a presentation of Pau: El valor de la vida als nostres dies at Marià Villangómez Library, Friday 10 March, at 7.30pm. The presentation will be given by the author, Jordi Armadans Gil.

Armadans, one of the most respected experts in international conflict and peace activists in the country, is a political scientist and journalist as well as an analyst and trainer in conflict, peace and security. He has worked as director of Foundation for Peace and has been linked to various NGOs, campaigns and social movements for the culture of peace, human rights, solidarity and global justice.

His first book, articulated concisely and lucidly, comes packed with the most recent data which Armadans distils into a critical and current reading of the state of global conflict, and urges us to respond with coherence and responsibility to put people back at the centre of our priorities. As the author explains, "on paper, peace, justice and human rights are indisputable values of democratic societies, but we live in a world shaken by multiple forms of violence: wars, militarism, hunger, poverty, male chauvinism, racism, abuse of power, the arms race, climate emergency... What distorted logic leads our leaders to espouse a will to improve society, when at the same time they allow (if not directly activate) mechanisms of death and misery?" These are some of the issues that will be addressed and discussed at the presentation.

4 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

The Office of Youth Affairs of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that a questionnaire is being administered that will allow local 11- to 19-year-olds to help design youth policies in the years ahead. This survey is part of a study to develop Formentera's third Plan for Children and Youth.

"If you had a magic wand, what would you want to do on Formentera?" is the question put to young people at the start of a questionnaire about possibilities for leisure, culture, free time, citizen participation, health, peer relationships, etc.

As explained by Vanessa Parellada, youth affairs councillor, "the responses will guide us in developing this third strategic plan for Formentera children and youth. The plan will also include the participation of entities and social partners from all areas of Formentera related to children and youth."

"This information will serve to update our study of local children and youth's situation, and will shape an analysis highlighting which needs are best met, the achievements of the second Plan and the direction that the next plan will take, as well as the projects it will include", added Councillor Parellada.

Form
Responses are anonymous, and the form can be filled out at the following address: shorturl.at/dlFZ9. A poster with a QR code will also be posted on social media and on the Consell de Formentera website to invite young people to participate. The questionnaire has additionally been distributed among pupils at IES Marc Ferrer and youth at the Casal de Joves.

The second Plan for Children and Youth was adopted in September 2018 and related proposals were scheduled to be developed between 2018 and 2022.

4 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera