The Formentera Office of Interior is pleased to report that Consell de Formentera firefighters have completed a course (levels one and two) on evaluating and stabilising collapsed structures. The course was held last week and consisted of 28 hours of theoretical and hands-on learning. A sergeant, chief, six firefighters and technical surveyor of the Consell del Formentera, as well as a non-commissioned officer of the Consell d'Eivissa fire brigade, all took part.

In this way, firefighters and other technicians learned to respond in emergencies involving structural collapses, including pre-collapse and post-collapse phases.

16 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Today in Madrid, Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, attended a presentation concerning Offices of Justice (Oficines de Justicia), a pilot project that Formentera will join which, in the words of President Juan, aims to "streamline, modernise and make the judicial service more accessible to the people of the island".

The presentation was overseen by Pilar Llop, Minister of Justice; Tontxu Rodríguez, Secretary of State for Justice, and Abel Caballero, president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). According to Minister Llop, Oficines de Justicia "arose from the need to make justice simpler, more accessible and efficient".

President Juan took part in a round table discussion with other representatives of local institutions developing the project, where she affirmed, "collaboration between local, regional and state administrations is key to being more agile. On Formentera, where we face an insularity that is twice compounded, the transformation of the Justice of the Peace [Jutjat de Pau] in Oficina de Justicia will improve the service, make it more agile and dynamic and save Formentera residents trips to Eivissa and Palma; I think it is a very exciting project for our island". In the words of the Consell de Formentera president, "a stronger, expanded service consolidates the figure of current Jutjat de Pau clerks and guarantees their content".

Oficines de Justicia will replace Jutjats de Pau, serving the needs of the public and the country's technological reality, while expanding public services on offer in all municipalities.

After the Tarassona Oficina de Justica opens in early November, Formentera's will be the next office to open. The Formentera Oficina de Justicia is being launched in coordination with the Ministry of Justice.

11 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Ana Juan, Bartomeu Escandell and Antoni Tur (respectively, the president, finance councillor and environment councillor of the Consell de Formentera), together with Miquel Mir and Sebastià Sansó, minister of environment and director general of waste and environmental education for the Balearic government, took part in the formation of Formentera's Island Waste Commission (Comissió insular de residus, CIR).

At the meeting, attendees set terms for the distribution of the Waste Prevention and Management Fund for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. These resources draw on funding from Formentera's waste tax, or cànon de residus, and are estimated to be as high as €119,808.71. The money must be used to advance prevention, preparation for reuse and recycling (particularly organic refuse) and educational campaigns.

President Ana Juan explained that "this tax will return to Formentera as investments". Attendees of the gathering said they would continue working together to determine where the tax money will go, and described projects as including improvements to waste management and recycling systems and more.

Mir voiced his satisfaction about the region-wide launch of the waste commissions, which he called "a localised tool to ensure each island benefits from investments to cut waste and manage it better to achieve the objectives in the Refuse Act (Llei de residus)".

Funding levels will depend on the implementation of rubbish and recycling pick-up schemes in each municipality, with plans for this funding to gradually shrink as pay-as-you-throw and organic waste sorting become fully incorporated. The aim is fulfilment of the objectives of regional legislation on waste and contaminated soils (Law 8/2019) as well as regulations at state and European level. Once these objectives are achieved, the tax will be marginal.

3 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The first Thursday of November each year is International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying. Today the Formentera Office of Interior made public a video that will be disseminated across Consell de Formentera social media pages and in schools, local government and the youth drop-in centre to educate young people about the importance of not bullying classmates, telling someone if you see bullying happen and getting help if you are being bullied.

The video's protagonists are children and young people from Formentera schools who transmit this message directly. Pilar Daviu, the school liaison officer of Formentera Local Police, closes the clip reminding young people of the presence of local figures who are there to help them. Josep Marí, councillor of interior, said the video is also about "showing youth that the liaison officer is a local figure who can give them support whenever they need it".

Bullying is ongoing harassment by one or more towards a student, where verbal or physical aggression generally occurs without any apparent cause. A report by UNESCO found that one out of every three students is a victim of bullying at school.

Vanessa Parellada, councillor of youth affairs, said the adhesion of the Consell de Formentera to the bullying awareness initiative was programmed in parallel with Children's Month because "all parties involved in the education of children and young people –schools, but also families, government agencies and society at large– must pool efforts so that education and our children's future is inclusive and the rights of every human being are respected".

3 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera