News

Hundred plus cyclists expected for Friday’s mountain-biking Volta Cicloturista

Wednesday, 24 October 2018 16:12

btt-volta-cicloturista1 This morning the Formentera Council’s sports office unveiled plans for the third edition of the island’s Volta Cicloturista, a mountain-biking challenge. CiF sports secretary Jordi Vidal was on hand at the gathering, along with spokespeople from the organising entities, Grup Esportiu Espalmador and Unisport Consulting, as well as a representative from Trasmapi, which is cosponsoring the event.

Secretary Vidal said organisers are counting on seeing over a hundred cyclists take part in the event, part of Discover Formentera in October, which he called “a push to put Formentera and its natural surroundings on the map with a range of sporting activities”.

Third BTT Volta Cicloturista
Once again, organisers tried to organize an event where mountain bikers of all backgrounds would find in Formentera a meeting point. The toughness of the trails and the breathtaking natural beauty on the island make it a star event on the calendar of mountain biking events in the Balearics.

Set to unfold between Friday and Sunday, the three-stage, 97.5-km route has a combined elevation gain of one thousand metres and each stage is estimated to take approximately three and a half hours.

Distances in the Volta Cicloturista are what make the trial ideal for cyclists of all stripes, whether or not they have a competitive bent. Timed segments include the first and third stages.

On Sunday more experienced cyclists can participate in a classic. Back for its 24th year, the demanding BTT La Mola offers up a demanding 37.6km and 850 metres of elevation gain. Times count towards another mountain-biking event, the Challenge del Campionat Pitiús.

Participants interested in a ride that’s slightly less technically-demanding can choose a route that borrows from segments of the established course. Completion times for this trial will not be recorded.

Traffic closures
For five minutes on Saturday at approximately 11.00am, crews will block the segment of highway from Sant Ferran to Sant Francesc near the windmills. Intermittent road closures are also anticipated on Sunday from 11.30am to 12.30pm at the Club Maryland turnoff near the restaurant Acapulco. Organisers thank motorists in advance for their cooperation and apologise for any inconveniences.

Formentera’s brand-new fire truck

Tuesday, 23 October 2018 17:03

img 2385-2- CiF chief Jaume Ferrer was joined this morning by Joan Gual de Torrella, port authority president of the Balearic Islands, in unveiling the local fire brigade’s newest addition–a fire engine. Autoritat Portuària de Balears facilitated the lorry’s transfer as part of a deal which, in addition to the fire engine, also includes €20,000 yearly to help train firefighters and purchase firefighting gear.

Ferrer framed the gift as just another sign of the warm relations bonding the administration and APB: “The mutual understanding we have has meant improvements in the port and an upgraded arsenal for the Council fire brigade”. Ferrer framed the acquisition as a “crucial to a decent firefighting service in the port” and said it would be “fundamental to the brigade’s work moving forward”.

New vehicle

The fire engine, a six-person, water pump-equipped light lorry with capacity for 1,800L, is designed both for fighting fires and lifesaving and rescue operations. Battery-powered technology even features in an on-board holding cell for traffic accident arrests.

The vehicle’s wide-ranging functions, not to mention on-board availability of firefighting, rescue and lifesaving material, make it highly versatile, its size, meanwhile, means there is greater ease of handling. Similar models are already being used on the ground in Murcia, Segovia and Castelló.

Controlled burns

The fire brigade wishes to remind islanders that the fire ban was lifted October 16, meaning outdoor fires are now permitted in the Balearics away from wooded areas, in recreational areas and designated sites. Permission from the Council must be obtained prior to any fires in wooded areas.

If your home does not have surrounding trees or a safe wooded buffer zone, visit the forest stewardship service’s website or speak with an environmental agent of the Govern balear about how to request the necessary permits.

Formentera to host celebration of Balearic culture and folk traditions

Monday, 22 October 2018 16:38

ball-pag--s1 The Formentera Council’s patrimony department reports that Monday October 29 will be the last day to sign up for the region’s third Jornades de Cultura Popular i Tradicional, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, November 2-3.

Jornades de Cultura turn three

As the entity responsible for protecting and spreading intangible cultural heritage, the Balearic Islands’ advisory council on popular and traditional culture launched the jornades (Catalan for “day-long events”) to promote research and reflection. The initiative is also supported by the regional ministry of culture, participation and sport and the Formentera Council.

Scheduled to unfold at the island’s dependent care centre, the “popular and traditional culture days” are envisioned as a yearly event that will rotate between Formentera, Eivissa, Menorca and Mallorca.

This year’s event will focus on the often intangible forms of cultural capital like museums, land and repositories of memory such as objects, images and sound.

As ever, speakers will be field specialists from the islands and beyond. This year’s list includes Josep Fornés Garcia, head of Museu Etnològic de Barcelona; Lina Sansano Costa, head of Eivissa’s Museu Etnològic and Arxiu del So i la Imatge; Francesc Cabañés Martínez, head of cultural dissemination, learning and communication; Carme Castells Valdivielso, head of Fundació Mallorca Literària, and Albert Costa Ramon of the holdings, collections and restoration unit of Museu Valencià d’Etnologia. Speakers and attendees are invited to a final discussion to close the event.

For more details and signups (deadline: October 29) visit the following links.

Programme : http://bit.ly/2yRmECc
Signups: http://bit.ly/2J8OHBI

Council and sailing club sign deal to help put projects –sports-related, socially-impactful, cultural and educational– in motion

Tuesday, 23 October 2018 15:49

foto conveni club nautic CiF chief Jaume Ferrer sat down today with Vicent Tur, president of the island's club nàutic, to sign into action a partnership agreement in support of sport, social, cultural and educational initiatives.

As part of the deal, the “nautical” or sailing club pledges €50,000 to help the Council stage sporting events, like windsurf regattas with Formentera's surfing club or a sailing league as well as the programme “Descobreix la mar” in collaboration with the sailing school.

The sailing club will collaborate in the Aula de Titulacions Nàutiques, a nautical accreditation site, on training courses and work with the diving school to offer year-round programming. The club will also coordinate “Setmana de la mar”, an event with wide-ranging learning and cultural activities about underwater ecosystems.

The sailing club will likewise put together a yearly photo contest, an annual speed painting contest and an interactive classroom that will serve as a staging area for exhibits, conferences, seminars, concerts, cinema discussions and other activities promoting knowledge about the sea.

One of the sailing club’s main focuses is social inclusion. Club staff take part in disability and special needs training. Partnerships with other specialised associations like APMIPTEA and APNEEF are on the horizon as well.

The sailing club commits to a series of earth-friendly actions as well, like participating in future editions of Save Posidonia Project; helping draft a guide to green sailing; fomenting and spreading not just knowledge but a spirit of care and conservation as well...for the planet at large and for Formentera’s surrounding beauty, especially at Estany des Peix.

Day of special programming for International Day of Action for Trans* Depathologisation

Monday, 22 October 2018 14:52

img 2362-1- The equality division of the Formentera Council’s social welfare department has joined with another arm of the administration, the department of culture, in organizing a series of activities to take place next week and the second week in November to mark October 21 as International Day of Action for the Depathologisation of Trans* Identities (the asterisk denotes the inclusion of a diverse range of gender identities, ie. trans, transsexual, transgender).

Programming

At 8.00pm on Tuesday October 23, Mar C Llop will unveil a photo exhibit entitled Construccions Identitàries. The artist says “the project captures the bodily processes already , familiar to transgender people, it shows the human face, trans people and their families, and it captures the secrecy that so frequently accompanies crossdressing’. Mar C Llop will be present for the evening event.

At 8.00pm on Thursday October 25, the cinema (Sala de Cultura) will host a screening of En Femme, a documentary by filmmaker Alba Barbé that deals with transvestism, the practice of dressing in clothes normally associated with the opposite gender to the one a person was assigned at birth. Formentera is the first island in the Balearics to host a screening.

Associated workshops have been scheduled for Thursday October 25 and Friday October 26 at Marc Ferrer secondary school. Més enllà del bullying deals with sexual and gender diversity as well as ending myriad forms of discrimination. The workshops are designed to lend a global counterpoint to a week of LGTBI visibility and trans depathologisation.

Social welfare secretary Vanessa Parellada says “our goal was to reach out to the schoolchildren of Formentera about issues of sexual and gender diversity, and educate people in not discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, identity or gender expression’. The secretary also pointed to group La lio Parda’s November run of theatre workshops to address the same issues with year three pupils at IES Marc Ferrer and year five and six pupils in primary.

Last up is Balearic company Baal’s production of the Catalina Carrasco-directed Crotch, a show that is by turns fragile, provocative, aggressive, funny and responsible as it offers a panoramic view of gender from (in)equality to sexual identity.

The central goal is to bring light and visibility to bodies, tolerance and sexuality, suggesting gender’s disappearance as the solution to gender inequality. This innovative experiment is artistically, socially and politically engaged.

Recommended for viewers 18 and up, Crotch comes to Formentera’s Sala de Cultura (cinema) 8.30pm on Saturday November 10.