Hercules, Cleanliness, and Housing: Children's Concerns Brought to Alicante City Council's Children's Session

Famous Alicante City Council's Plenary Hall that hosts 29 councillors every last Thursday of the month was filled this Wednesday with the laughter and concerns of children. Fifty 5th-grade students from Sagrada Familia School became the mayor, the auditor, the secretary, or opposition councillors for a day in a Children's Session that rivals the quality of the adult sessions.

The Councillors of Education, Mari Carmen de España, and Presidency, Antonio Peral, hosted the students who had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the internal workings of the Council and to ask their questions. These included issues related to Hercules CF, housing problems, storms, and cleanliness.

Before the session, the two councillors guided the students through the Hall of Mayors and the Blue Room of the City Hall, providing historical facts that greatly intrigued them, such as Queen Isabel II's stay in 1858 for the inauguration of the railway line between Madrid and Alicante.

In the Plenary Hall, De España and Peral explained to the students the functioning and composition of the municipal session, which began with the election of students to play the roles of mayor/president, deputy mayor, secretaries, and auditor. Two students then read a text they had prepared in class about freedom of expression.

During the questions, students from Sagrada Familia School acted as the municipal opposition, inquiring about some of the city's general concerns. The children showed interest in cleanliness. The councillors emphasized the need for "everyone's cooperation, including yours, the children," and reminded that the City Council "has increased staff and resources in the recent awarding of the street cleaning and waste collection contract."

Regarding access to housing and control of illegal occupation, the councillors stated that "it is an issue the City Council and the Generalitat are working on together, with measures such as the development of protected housing," and recalled the recent inauguration of the Office against Illegal Occupation to act, within municipal competencies, against this practice.

Asked about measures to promote economic and tourist development in Alicante, De España and Peral outlined measures such as support for new businesses to establish in the city and the development of tourism campaigns by the Local Development Agency and the Tourism Board, respectively.

Additionally, a student inquired about measures to foster the connection between Alicante and Elche, to which Peral responded that both city councils are collaborating "more closely than ever" to strengthen these ties, which have already borne fruit with initiatives like the Elche Alicante Marathon, scheduled for November.

The storm that devastated Valencia also made its way into the Children's Session in Alicante. Some children wanted to know what measures Alicante has for such phenomena and the aid provided by the City Council to those affected. In this regard, Peral and De España discussed the Anti-Flood Plan and other infrastructures implemented subsequently, such as La Marjal Park, and detailed the aid sent from Alicante to Valencia, both financial (1.5 million euros) and in the form of essential goods collection and the dispatch of municipal personnel, vehicles, and emergency, security, and cleaning materials.

Apparently, the children were not satisfied with the session's questions and were interested in how to convey their concerns to the City Council. In response, the Councillor of Education invited the students to visit the council whenever they wish. "The City Council is everyone's home, including the children's, and the doors are open to assist you whenever you need," she stated. She also committed to visiting their school "whenever you have any issue to bring to me."

In a relaxed tone, the students' curiosity also led them to ask questions about the possibility of the City Council supporting local football teams Hercules and Intercity in moving up the league or the most amusing anecdotes experienced by the councillors.

At the end of the session, the councillors presented the students with a gift and the school with a participation diploma in the Children's Session, signed by the mayor, Luis Barcala.