250 children have participated in the Consell dels Xiquets de Xàbia since 2011

Friday 19th November 2021 – CARLOS LÓPEZ with Mike Smith

About 250 children from the different schools in Xàbia have participated in the ten Children’s Councils that have been set up since the inception of this citizen participation initiative in 2011.

It was one of the first measures launched by the first government of mayor José Chulvi and was promoted by the former councillor Cesc Camprubí, who also attended the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the constitution of the Children’s Council, the first in the entire province of Alicante.

During the special celebration, the latest members of the council were able to hear the testimony of two of the former members, Amparo Cabrera and Ferrán Calderón, who have recalled the emotion of that first day.

Cabrera recalled that everyone dressed up for the event and that they were told that the Children’s Council intended “to work to make Xàbia a better town for children” and commented that everything they did in the meetings “then we took it to our schools”, adding that the work of those years “has allowed me to be aware of the importance of working together”.

Ferrán Calderón explained how he felt when he participated in a presentation in Valencia as a spokesperson for all the Children’s Councils in the province and stressed that, in the years he was a member, “I learned a lot, I met many people and I had a great time”.

At the event, two congratulatory videos were broadcast, one by the head of UNICEF children’s programs in the Comunidad Valenciana and another by the general director of Children of the Department of Equality Policies.

Each school has representatives in this body who work to provide a different vision in municipal policy and who have provided well-known solutions. One of its first proposals to come true was the installation of pedestrian crossings next to the Supercor, followed by the renovation of the Pinosol playground. It also collaborated on the skate park and the design of the future parks of Plaza de Xàtiva in Freginal and the Plaza de Reina Sofía in Thiviers, both of which are currently in progress. There are still things in the pipeline, such as the Road Safety Education circuit, for which the youngsters even made a model, but surely the local government has it among its priorities for the coming years.

The anniversary celebrations concluded with a few words from the mayor José Chulvi, who remarked that children represent “a fifth of the population” and has valued that both the little ones and the political leaders themselves “have learned something”. Finally, he has encouraged the new members of the Council to give ideas to the local government and has promised to “try to move them forward”.