Jennifer Pérez: “They used to accuse us of only showing up at election time; now we’ve managed to listen to villages and neighbourhoods”

“This is now our third round of visits to all the villages and neighbourhoods,” says Jennifer Pérez, referring to the work carried out by the Citizen Participation department during the current term. The councillor says the aim has been to maintain regular contact with residents’ associations, gather their concerns and then report back on the progress made on each one.

Pérez acknowledges that one of the main criticisms they faced was the perception that municipal governments only visited communities outside the capital during election periods. “They always used to accuse governing groups of only showing up for elections, and I think that during this term we’ve managed to establish a regular schedule, meet with each residents’ association and listen to the concerns of villages and neighbourhoods,” she says. Their main request was “that we listen to them”, she stressed.

Residents also raise other requests relating to road surfacing, cleaning and improvements to cultural centres. The councillor noted that the council has invested close to one million euros in improving these facilities during the current term.

Pérez announced that the next meeting will take place in Los Llanos de la Concepción in November. The associations themselves asked for it to be held there because the community currently has no active residents’ association.

“It’s where we lost a residents’ association, and where we’re working to get one set up again,” said the councillor, who hopes the meeting will also encourage residents to re-establish a local group.

Four new youth associations

The councillor also highlighted the growth of youth associations in the municipality. Four new youth associations have been set up during the current term, and the Los Pozos Cultural Centre has been made available as a dedicated space for young people.

Pérez recalls that having a space of their own was one of the main requests when she took over the Youth portfolio. The venue is available to youth associations, which can book it for meetings and activities throughout the week.

She also highlighted the continued success of Puerto Joven, which held its third edition this summer at Playa de Los Pozos, with three days of sporting, cultural, musical and leisure activities for young people.

The programme has now been expanded with a new range of training courses for young people aged 12 to 30. Upcoming sessions include a course on preventing and responding to hate crimes, scheduled for 3 October; a Sports Instructor course on 5 October; and a Self-Protection and Self-Defence course on 10 October.

The three courses will be held at Centro de Formación Los Colorines, and registration is now open. In the interview, Pérez highlighted the council’s commitment to using the venue for youth training and explained that some courses are intended to provide qualifications that could later help participants find work in leisure and recreation.

Nearly 50 associations at Sembrando Color seek volunteers

The municipality’s associations will come together at one of their main events, the next Feria Sembrando Color, scheduled for 30 October.

Nearly 50 associations will take part, a figure Pérez says is among the highest reached so far. The Town Council is allocating €30,000 to organise the event.

The councillor said the programme is drawn up in collaboration with the groups themselves and that this year’s event will run for longer, with activities in both the morning and the afternoon.

One of the main new features will be the participation of schools in the morning. The aim is to introduce young people to the work of the associations, explain what they do and encourage them to volunteer.

“Many, many associations need volunteers,” says Pérez, who argues that young people should be made aware of the groups’ work and that the voluntary sector also needs to bring in a new generation.