News

Second year of Formentera Sports Photo contest

Monday, 14 November 2016 20:22

ja arribas 1er premi The Formentera Council Office of Sport has announced a November 25 deadline for submissions to Concurs de Fotografia Esportiva, a sports photo contest now in its second year. Submissions will be accepted in person at the Citizen Information Office (OAC), by certified post and online, by contacting fotografiaesportiva@conselldeformentera.cat. Sports councillor Jordi Vidal explained that email submissions —a first this year— “are intended to make it easier for photographers to share their work with us”.

In Vidal's words, the contest was created as a way to “show sport in a different way and encourage people, through photos, to get active”. Photos should be essentially sports-related or be somehow related to a facet of sport. Three prizes —first place, €300; second, €200 and third, €100— will be awarded.

Conditions of entry
Three photos maximum will be accepted per person. Photos must be original submissions and must not be entered in any other competitions. The image can be in colour or black and white. Physical prints must be on paper and unframed with a minimum width of 20 cm and a maximum height of 40 cm. Formats include square, digital, classic and panorama. Online submissions must meet the following requirements: photos must be saved as .jpg files no larger than 8 Mb. In the digital category photos can feature modified tone, saturation, light, contrast, levels and curves, but no other editing is permitted.

Submissions
Paper submissions will be accepted at the Citizen Information Office (OAC), carrer de Ramon Llull, 6, and must include an envelope with the photographer's full name, address, email and a telephone number.

Photos will also be accepted via certified post sent to Consell Insular de Formentera, plaça de la Constitució, 1, 07860 Sant Francesc Xavier, Formentera. Such submissions should include a similarly marked envelope and a pseudonym for identification purposes.

Online
Online submissions must be sent to fotografiaesportiva@conselldeformentera.cat with the following information: applicant's full name, email address, telephone number and town.

On all photos, contestants are asked to include a title as well as mention of the place and date it was taken. A jury of individuals with experience in visual arts will select the winning photos and awarded recipients will be announced in early December. The photos will be displayed at the Antoni Blanc sports centre.

Formentera welcomes first round of local history seminars held away from Mallorca

Saturday, 12 November 2016 04:45

molivellmola 2013 The Formentera Council's Office of Patrimony has announced that on November 18 and 19 the centre for regional studies in the Balearics (IEB) will hold the first ever Jornades d'Estudis Històrics Locals away from its normal home base on Mallorca. The round of seminars, which focuses on recent research concerning local history, is hosted by the IEB and the Formentera Council and is part of a broader programme known as Novembre Folk. The talks, now their 34th year, will take place Friday and Saturday in the Council's plenary hall (sala de Plens) and the conference room of the CiF Office of Culture.

The project coordinator this year is Andreu Ramis, chair of the Balearic Islands' advisory council on popular and traditional culture. Growing concern for preserving intangible heritage in the archipelago has made certain issues —appropriately up-to-date ideas and policy framework— increasingly pressing. Using its time-tested model of conferences and publications by specialists and researchers, IEB (or Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics) has decided to use this year's programme to tackle intangible heritage from a land standpoint, split into four subsections.

First, participants will address the work of documenting, inventory making and cataloguing such intangible heritage. Jaume Mascaró of Institut Menorquí d'Estudis will speak about Menorca's intangible cultural heritage as an opportunity for what he calls “sociocultural dynamics”. Another seminar, by Joan Vallès of Universitat de Barcelona, will centre on the interrelation between plants and mankind, a field known as ethnobotany.

Language as an expression of heritage (understood as ethnopoetry and ethnoliterature) will also be discussed, in this case by Jaume Guiscafrè of Universitat de les Illes Balears. Guiscafrè will focus his discussion on folklore, ethnopoetry and the heritage process”. Finally, Josep Martí of Institut Milà i Fontanals and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, will lead a seminar where underlying concepts of stagnation and transformation inform discussions of intangible heritage.

Crowning the lecture series, a round table talk also turning on the topic of stagnation and change will provide grounds for a debate between guest experts, public administration officials in Balears and Catalunya, lecturers and seminar attendees.

Heritage site visits
Participants are invited to take part in a visit of la Mola's landmark windmill, el molí Vell. For the twenty-plus individuals visiting from locations further afield, the Formentera Council has made accommodation available at Sant Francesc's Casa de Colònies.

Registration
All those interested in being a part of this free series can sign up before Tuesday November 15 by sending an email to publicacions@iebalearics.org.

Kids in the Pityuses get a chance to catch MARCEL GROS clowning it up in “La gran A...ventura”

Wednesday, 09 November 2016 13:47

marcel gros1 With La gran A...ventura, the CiF Office of Culture stages an original, family-friendly production by Marcel Gros, a clown with rave reviews from crowds and critics alike. The show takes the stage at 5.30pm, Saturday November 12 at Formentera's municipal cinema, and Sunday at 6.00pm at the Palau de Congressos of Santa Eulària des Riu.

The production comes to the Pityuses via PLATEA, a 2014 programme of INAEM, Spain's education, culture and sport ministry's institute of performing arts and music, which aims to bring high-calibre national productions to Balearic audiences.

In La gran A...ventura (Història d'un Pallasso), Marcel Gros infuses his characteristically poetic vision with tones of humour as he takes us on a joyride through his own private universe. Top-class performances are given by a cast comprising a strip of aluminium foil, a trash bin, a spin atop a capital letter, a dress shirt, a mime, a fakir...The show is suitable for all ages.

Background
Going back 35 years, Marcel Gros got his start as a founding member of Teatre Mòbil. In 1991, after receiving his clown and circus education at the hands of teachers Willi Colombaioni, Pierre Byland and Philippe Gaullier, Gros set out on a solo path of self-produced and absolutely unique stage productions that has earned him numerous accolades, including, for La Gran A...ventura, Castilla la Mancha's top prize for the stage. The production will now come to Formentera's municipal movie theatre and Eivissa's Palau de Congressos de Santa Eulària.

Tickets for the sixty-minute Formentera production go for six euros (the kids' rate; accompanying adults get in free) and will be available at the box office the day of performance. For Sunday's function, eight-euro entries can be purchased at Holidays on carrer Sant Jaume in Santa Eulària and at Holy Sport on avinguda Ignasi Wallis in Eivissa or for ten euros (the same day) at the Palau de Congressos box office.

Formentera's rescue and lifeguard service conclude summer operations

Thursday, 10 November 2016 14:55

foto socorristes 2016 The president's office of the Formentera Council, the administration in charge of the island's rescue and lifeguard service, has announced that last week marked the end of active summer supervision, which runs May 1 to October 31.

During the service's six-month period of operations, fifteen lifeguards, three beach supervisors, one area supervisor and one service coordinator were tasked with keeping Formentera's beaches safe. Department chair Bartomeu Escandell thanked the service's team for its “immense dedication and professionalism”.

The service logged 1,255 cases in which assistance was given, 488 more than in 2015, due in part to an extended season, and also to an increased presence of beachgoers in May and October — “when lifeguard interventions doubled,” according to supervisor Sergi Martín. Another 1,321 individuals were treated for jellyfish stings, 267 fewer than the previous year.

A total of 49 people were rescued from dangerous situations in the water. “Such assistance,” Martín pointed out, “is normally necessary at yellow flag times when swimming is allowed but caution is advised.” Ambulances took 34 individuals to hospital, one individual suffered a stroke and still another died on a beach between Es Ministre and Es Trucadors.

Accessible beaches
Councillor Escandell highlighted the beaches at Arenals and es Pujols which are adapted for people with reduced mobility. This year 37 beachgoers used the service. The Council's adapted swim service at these beaches is available not only to visitors but to any Formentera residents who might require it.

Es Ca Marí desalination plant to boost production capacity

Tuesday, 08 November 2016 18:18

visita planta dessalinitzadora Environment councillor Daisee Aguilera, accompanied by the Govern's director general of water resources, Juana María Garau, and the director of Abaqua, Antoni Garcias, paid a visit to the Es Ca Marí desalination plant to observe the progress of works currently under way there.

María described the current project as one of “expansion and improvements” at the plant that, until recently, supported two production lines and boasted a production capacity of 1,000 cubic metres of water per day. Following the changes the plant will have two additional lines with a daily capacity of 2,500 m³ each. The plant is also equipped with an additional line, able to produce 2,000 m³ per day, which will be overhauled and reserved for emergencies.

The revamped plant's production —5,000 m³ from the two new lines plus 2,000 m³ from the existing line— stands against a peak summer demand of 4,000 m³ per day. According to Councillor Aguilera, it is hoped the overhaul will furnish a margin large enough to cover population growth and potential breakdowns. She gave thanks to the other visitors for joining her in the task of evaluating the remodel work.

The project, priced at €1,600,000 (without VAT) and slated for completion in March, includes plans for a new well, energy upgrades, improved salt water extraction and filter replacements.