CiF-Baleària accord on transport to Festa Intercultural

conveni CIF Bal 110815 1The CiF (Consell Insular de Formentera) and Baleària transport company have signed a funding agreement aimed at providing transport during to la Festa Intercultural, a celebration of diversity and local communities. The initiative was made official today despite the fact that the celebration itself took place earlier this year on 18 and 19 April.

Council president Jaume Ferrer, councillor of  social welfare Vanessa Parellada, director of Fundació Baleària Ricard Pérez Ivars and Baleària's Eivissa-Formentera representative Joan Serra all put their signatures on the deal, which promises €1,400 for the Festa.

President Ferrer thanked his counterparts for their efforts securing the arrangement—in place since 2011—and noted the “pivotal function” it holds in the organisation of the festival, an event that he called “a catalyst for contact and understanding between the different groups, associations and cultures on our island”.

Fundació Baleària director Ricard Pérez Ivars said the agreement was “very important because it enables us to bring together groups that are sharing a living space”. Pérez also indicated his foundation planned to continue its support in the coming years.

In the words of Councillor Vanessa Parellada: “The Festa Intercultural is proof of the wealth of cultures that we've got on the island”.

For his part, Joan Serra, representative of the Baleària shipping company, explained his company's near five-year collaboration with the Formentera Council, mainly for the Festa. “Connecting places and transporting people of all religions, beliefs and origins is important to us,” he explained. “This festival is the perfect example”.