The president of the Formentera Council, Jaume Ferrer, unveiled today in press conference the administration's new online agenda, www.agendaformentera.cat. The site hosts a comprehensive directory of activities —organised by the Council or which have benefitted from its support— that are open to the public. The president said the new portal would“bring together all the activities and events the CiF puts on,” encompassing culture, sports, tourism and “programming sponsored by any of the Council's other departments for Formentera residents and visitors.”

Devised to be responsive, the website is also perfectly adapted for smart phones — a use President Ferrer says the Council hopes will catch on. The site constitutes a cross-cutting tool for the Council, whose offices will each contribute information to the agenda and in turn use it for internal operations. Culture councillor Susana Labrador, tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer and sports councillor Jordi Vidal, who were also at this morning's press conference, painted the offices they head as the site's driving forces.

IT councillor Rafael González was on hand to explain the practical aspects of the agenda. He described the break-down of events by daytime, nighttime, health and sports, kids, weekends and general categories. He also hailed the possibility of accessing the agenda via mobile with an app, called Llançador. The app, noted González, allows for easy sharing of events across social media sites and is equipped with an “intuitive calendar” that promises effortless use.

The programming for the new site was handled by Existalia, an Eivissa firm directed by Juan Carlos Flórez. Flórez was in attendance this morning as well, and Councillor González took the opportunity to thank him for Existalia's work on the initiative. The project had a total cost of 3,000 euros. The councillor of the president's office, Bartomeu Escandell, social welfare councillor Vanessa Parellada and environment councillor Daisee Aguilera, as well as Isidor Torres, the CiF's director, Ana Mateos, the head of PIMEF, the island's association of small businesses, and other CiF staff were also at the launch.

Bartomeu Escandell, councillor of the Formentera Council's Office of Rural Affairs, has announced that his department will give out 936 forty-kilo feedsacks to the island's stockbreeders “to offset the effects of the drought that has afflicted Formentera this year”.

The assistance will go to the 102 livestock farmers that compose the Formentera Stockbreeders' Association and have obtained their renewed 2016 trade cards. Distribution of the packs began last week. The process is overseen by the Formentera Farmers' Co-operative, which is contacting recipients to schedule drop-offs.

Formentera farmers have registered a total of 1,048 animals, for a total that includes goats, sheep and 115 pigs. This is the third time the Formentera Council distributes the aid — a bid to help farmers deal with the drought that has beset the island in recent years.

The CiF councillor of sport, Jordi Vidal, met today with local Yoga Day organiser Flor Mauger to unveil the activities programme on a week-long event that kicks off tomorrow, Friday June 17, and doesn't finish until International Yoga Day, next Tuesday. Mauger is joined by five of the island's resident yoga instructors —Suzanne Laier, Claudio Valdiserri, Irina Zadek, Olga Dargel and Eva Oller— in organising a programme packed with free, open-to-the-public activities for kids and adults.

Marking the start of the programme, tomorrow at 8.30pm, will be a photo exhibit by Guillermo Ferrer Torres titled Viu feliç al teu ecosistema (Living happily in your ecosystem). The exhibit will be displayed at Centre Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” and will conclude with a video screening. Back at Gabrielet on Saturday and Monday, June 18 and 20, the crew of yoga instructors will be on hand through early afternoon until two and then again in the evening with information about the manifold variants of yoga that exist. The evening programme on these days also includes video screenings.

Yoga Day
Tuesday, June 21, is finally the big day. From nine in the morning till ten at night, activities for both children and adults will be hosted in Jardí de Ses Eres (behind the Sant Francesc church) and at Centre Gabrielet. During the day events range from practice-based classes to yoga-themed talks, with, in between, snack times stacked with naturally-prepared treats and musical performances. All the activities are free, but all donations received will go to assisting the people of Nepal.

Yoga Day has also had the support of the Formentera Council, which provided logistical assistance in addition to help designing brochures and posters and paying for T-shirts given to Yoga Day participants. The total cost was roughly 3,500 euros.

Today in the administration's plenary hall, Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer and environment councillor Daisee Aguilera met with the Govern Balear's minister of land, energy and transport, Marc Pons, and the regional government's director general of energy, Joan Groizard. The officials then met with Es Ca Marí residents with homes near the power station in that area, and concluded the gathering with a trip to the facilities, where the Endesa company's chair, Ernesto Bonín, spoke about recent improvements at the site.

The CiF president characterised the administration's calls to reduce noise and air pollution at the power plant as “a 17 year long struggle”. He also hailed the recent installation of eight generators capable of supplying 12 megawatts. Between the new equipment and additional electricity provided by two underwater cables that extend from Eivissa to Formentera, it is hoped local energy needs can be met. Last summer saw energy demand hit highs of 20 megawatts.

Among the changes that Bonín highlighted, a single smokestack was constructed and noise-reducing screens were placed around generators. An associated turbine will only be activated in cases of emergency. The Govern's energy minister celebrated what he called “a triple win”: increased electrical potential, reduced noise pollution and less emissions winding up in the atmosphere. He said the changes would make Formentera “a better, more competitive destination spot and one with a better quality of life”.

To President Ferrer, the improvements are still just a first step. He referred to long-term plans to add two underwater supply cables connecting the island to Eivissa as well as an adjacent substation. The generators will be kept running till October 15. After that time, the existing cables are expected to suffice for Formentera's lower, off-season electricity demands.