• Representatives from public administrations, global organisations, educational institutions and private companies will be the protagonists of a crucial debate on Sustainability, Health and Safety on beaches on 2 and 3 November at Infecar.
• The public can register and attend free of charge to sessions that bring together leading specialists, scientists and managers.
• The beach of Las Canteras will host the last day of the congress, on 4 November, with a full programme of workshops.

A large panel of experts and representatives of public administrations, global entities, educational institutions and private companies constitute the important endorsement with which the International Blue Flag Congress is presented, which will be held in Gran Canaria, in its capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of November. Infecar will host the first two days of this event, which will conclude with a final day of workshops on Las Canteras beach. The proposed programme of talks and round tables revolves around concepts such as Sustainability, Health and Safety on the beaches, guidelines for a debate that is crucial for the present and future development of the coastline. The Cabildo de Gran Canaria is promoting this initiative, which is co-organised by the Canary Islands Trade Fair Institution (Infecar) and the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC), with the collaboration of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council, through the departments of Tourism and Ciudad de Mar.

Infecar will thus have two intense days of sessions, morning and afternoon, with the presence of specialists from different parts of Spain and international speakers. Attendance to the entire event is free of charge: the public can register for the sessions on the official website of the event, at the link https://lpabanderaazul.com/formulario-inscripcion/.

The congress will be formally inaugurated 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 Tourism, Employment and Local Development of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and José Palacios, President of ADEAC.

Speakers such as Lourdes Colón (honorary member of the Foundation for environmental Education and president of the Association responsible for the Blue Flag in Puerto Rico) and Johann Durand (International Blue Flag coordinator) have been confirmed for the congress. Different specialists, managers, technicians and experts will present their lectures in Monday’s session, scheduled from 11:30 to 12:30 in the morning session, and from 16:00 to 18:30 in the afternoon session.

The programme includes the lectures Blue Flag as an Educational Programme. FEE Strategy: Gaia2030; Sustainable Tourism, The value of Blue Flag for tourist destinations; Blue Flag in 50 countries around the world; Blue Flag Criteria for tourism destinations.

Blue Flag: 35 years of criteria converted into rights that favour the cooperation of all (17:30); and Effects of the Blue Flag on the economy, as well as the presentation of the success stories of the beach of Las Canteras, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the Alicante municipality of Alfaz del Pi. The day on 2 November at Infecar will close at 19:00 with a debate between the speakers, moderated by Ana Pérez-Moreno Gómez, coordinator of the congress’s scientific committee.

On 3 November, in the morning session, from 9:00 am to 12:35 pm, the panels will focus on issues such as safety and drowning prevention, surveillance, inclusion, current legislation and environmental management and defence of beaches, in what constitutes the bulk of the topics that inspire this event. This congress is based on the concepts of Sustainability, Health and Safety on the coast.

Up to four round tables have been programmed in the session on the 3rd, from 16:00 to 19:30, with a wide participation of managers and public representatives and prominent experts and actors from the private sector, specialists in beach management in several of its aspects. Health and Safety, New technologies applied to beach safety, Environmental Education and Inclusive Beaches are the titles of these panels.

The International Blue Flag Congress will move to Las Canteras beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Friday 4 November, where four training workshops are scheduled (from 9:00 to 13:30): First Aid: use of material resources, Attention to people with disabilities, Environmental Education proposals on the beach and Technology at the service of safety. The president of ADEAC, José Palacios Aguilar, will officially close the congress at the end of the workshops on Las Canteras beach at 14:00. At this time, the next venue will also be announced.

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 is available at https://lpabanderaazul.com/programa/.