Benidorm encourages young people to achieve the SDGs and intergenerational solidarity

On the occasion of the celebration of International Youth Day, which is commemorated every year on August 12, the Benidorm City Council Youth Department has taken stock of the proposals and policies addressed to this important group of Benidorm residents who - between 12 and 30 years old- represents 22% of the registered population of Benidorm.

Councilor Jaime Jesús Pérez has highlighted that Youth "is a priority of the Government Team of the Benidorm City Council for which cross-cutting initiatives are developed that involve most of the councils and municipal departments."

About them, Pérez has highlighted those that are underway this month of August -such as the Summer 2022 Program, the Gaming Benidorm Fest or courses such as canyoning- to more complex initiatives, such as the New Creators Contest, which has already reached 34 editions, or the Youth Forum, focused on communication, social networks, participation and youth commitment. All of them are integrated into a very complete annual program.

The councillor recalled that all these proposals launched by the Youth Council of the Benidorm City Council are part of the guidelines that are proposed at an international level from Europe and from the UN, whose General Assembly already proposed in 1969 to pay special attention to the problems of youth should be encouraged to project initiatives to help develop the potential of young people as the main asset for the future of today's society. Thus, on December 17, 1999, the General Assembly, following the recommendations of the World Conference of Youth Ministers (Lisbon, August 8-12, 1998), declared August 12 as International Youth Day.

Jaime Jesús Pérez has highlighted that "in line with the moment we live in the 21st century we need to take advantage of the potential of all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Benidorm is working on it" from the town hall and from the Information Center Juvenil de Benidorm, which is a free public service that the Department of Youth of the Benidorm City Council makes initiatives, activities and courses available to young people, as well as the Espai Jove for their disposal in the afternoon and on Saturday mornings, with scheduled educational leisure activities such as craft workshops, film forum, talks, video games, toy library, storytelling, language learning, etc.

In the program of the department, there is a course to support employability -Training Plan, PICE and Chamber of Commerce-, English hospitality, accounting, business management and administration, first aid, urban music production, introduction to theatre, time activities monitor free, diving, navigation -to obtain licenses even for jet skis-, shopper marketing-commercial assistant and several others.

Pérez also recalled that Benidorm has the Youth Plan, the first in the city, which as a transversal document places the young population at the centre of municipal actions, marking the strategy and actions to be developed at the municipal level to improve the quality of life and the opportunities of the young population of Benidorm.

The Benidorm Youth Plan works, Jaime Jesús Pérez has pointed out, as “the multi-year roadmap of the actions to be carried out and promoted by the City Council for the young population, and the objectives and available resources. The goal, he insisted, is "to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Benidorm's youth by providing spaces for healthy leisure and the exchange of experiences." As initiatives that are already underway, Pérez has mentioned the youth hostel in the Parque de la Séquia Mare and the project included in the Strategy for Sustainable and Integrative Urban Development (EDUSI) of the Youth Center on the structural complex of Plaza de Toros del Parque of l'Aiguera.

Pérez has encouraged us to "celebrate the International Youth Day under the premise of betting on the future under the objective and the need to achieve the objectives of sustainable development, with which Benidorm is in perfect harmony, to achieve a world for all ages”, insisting on “cross-cutting actions” and “intergenerational solidarity”, in line with the UN proposals for today.