• On 2 and 3 November, Infecar is hosting the International Blue Flag Congress. Sustainability, Health and Safety, which will have a final day of practical workshops in Las Canteras on 4 November.
• Raúl García Brink, coordinator of economic development, energy sovereignty, climate and knowledge of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; Virginia Yuste, vice-president of ADEAC; and José Eduardo Ramírez, councillor of Ciudad de Mar of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, presented a programme that already has 200 registered participants.

Raúl García Brink, coordinator of Economic Development, Energy Sovereignty, Climate and Knowledge of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; Virginia Yuste, vice-president of the Association of Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC); and José Eduardo Ramírez, councillor of Ciudad de Mar of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, presented the programme of the International Blue Flag Congress. Sustainability, Health and Safety, promoted by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and co-organised by the Canary Islands Trade Fair Institution (INFECAR) and ADEAC, with the collaboration of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, through the departments of Tourism and Ciudad de Mar. The event will take place on 2 and 3 November (at Infecar), with a final day, 4 November, devoted to practical workshops in Las Canteras.

Raúl García Brink recalled in his speech that the Blue Flag “is a symbol of tranquillity and quality”, and that Gran Canaria currently has a dozen beaches with this distinction, which I think is quite a high number. “I would like to thank the other collaborators for their participation in the organisation, such as the councils of Tourism and Ciudad de Mar of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council,” he added.

He also said that there are already 200 people registered for the conference, and that “we have participants from different parts of Spain and from countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Nigeria and Morocco, and I think this is a figure that speaks for itself of the interest in the congress”.

Virginia Yuste, for her part, stated that “we are very proud to hold this congress, which highlights the joint efforts of the administrations involved in the programme (ministries, autonomous communities, municipalities…), in a professional meeting of the highest level”. He also reviewed to the media the content of a programme with “high level” speakers, recalling that the last day included training workshops in Las Canteras.
Yuste, who took part in the presentation via video-conference, stressed that “sharing experiences is one of the main objectives of our international programme, and this forum is a great opportunity to carry it out”. “At ADEAC,” he added, “we believe that the future of our beaches will depend on everyone. We need the involvement of public entities, private entities, universities, and professionals from all fields, especially Environmental Education, one of the pillars of Blue Flag, which aims to raise awareness of the problems of the coastline and its possible solutions”.

José Eduardo Ramírez, finally, stressed that “from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria we have been fighting to bring this congress here since before the pandemic. We asked the Cabildo for its collaboration, which it has given us from minute one, even offering to finance the event. With Raúl García Brink always willing to participate from Infecar, which I believe has the best facilities to host this conference”.

Ramírez pointed out that “having this congress is a luxury: we naturally agree with the objectives of the programme: Health, Safety and Sustainability are precisely the lines of action that we want to follow for Las Canteras”. The congress, he added, “will allow us to learn about other experiences in beach management and to be able to present what we are doing here”.

The programme

A large panel of experts and representatives of public administrations, global entities, educational institutions and private companies constitute the important endorsement with which these conferences are presented in Gran Canaria. The inauguration will take place at Infecar on the morning of 2 November at 10:30 am, with the attendance of Antonio Morales, President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Pedro Quevedo, Councillor for Employment, Local Development, Tourism, Equality and Solidarity of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and José Palacios, President of ADEAC. On that day and the following one, 3rd November, different specialists, managers, technicians and experts will present their lectures and debates, scheduled from 11:30 to 12:30 in the morning session, and from 16:00 to 18:30 in the afternoon session.

The congress will move to Las Canteras beach on Friday 4 November, where four training workshops have been scheduled (from 9:00 to 13:30): First Aid: use of material resources, Attention to people with disabilities, Proposals for Environmental Education on the beach and Technology at the service of safety. The president of ADEAC, José Palacios Aguilar, will finally proceed to the official closing ceremony at 14:00.

Programme and attendance
The latest news on the International Blue Flag Congress. Sustainability, Health and Safety can be followed at https://lpabanderaazul.com/noticias/ and through the Blue Flag social profiles.
The full programme can be consulted on the official website of the congress, https://lpabanderaazul.com.
Attendance is free of charge: the public can register on the same page, at the link https://lpabanderaazul.com/formulario-inscripcion/