THE Advisory Commission on Festivals and Traditions of the Valencian Community will propose to all municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to be part of this collegiate body in order to broaden the representation and include the participation of municipal councils in the decision-making related to local festivals.
This is what the regional secretary of the President’s Office and Communication said. Jose Manuel Cuencaafter the meeting of the Commission held this Saturday in Segorbe, coinciding with its patron saint festivals and the Inscriptions of Bulls and Horses.
The initiative will allow the municipalities of Valencia, Alicante, Castellón, Elche, Torrent, Paterna, Alcoy, Orihuela, Torrevieja, Gandia, Benidorm, Sagunto, Elda, San Vicente del Raspeig and Vila-real to participate in the consultative commission, in the where they deem it appropriate.
Currently, the commission includes, in addition to the Generalitat, the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and representatives of almost 50 festive entities of the Valencian Community, among which are the organising entities of festivals declared of international tourist interest, such as the Fallas or the fires of San Juanas well as of national interest or tourist interest, the Interagrupación de Fallas, the National Union of Festive Entities of Moors and Christians, as well as the Federation of Musical Societies of the Valencian Community, among others.
Promotion of an “integrative commission”
After the meeting, the regional secretary recalled that the commission was created in 2022, but “it was the Consell de Carlos Mazon “the one who started it by calling it for the first time on June 23 during the San Juan fires.”
Likewise, he stressed that “the current Consell wants to revitalize this commission with quarterly meetings, which will be convened on the occasion of festive celebrations, and provide it with practical content on general themes related to municipal festivals.”
José Manuel Cuenca explained that the Consell del Cambio has also incorporated into the commission the most representative entities of the bous al carrer and the diocesan associations that organize religious festivals, “thus demonstrating the integrative nature of the current executive in the face of the decision of the Government of Botànic to exclude these entities that bring together thousands of people throughout the Valencian Community.
During the meeting, the creation of two working groups was also proposed. The one for the promotion of actions and formulas for optimize resources and generate synergies between the different festivities and another normative one, which will be responsible for providing solutions to the difficulties linked to the processing and administrative procedures common to all the festivities.
Second edition of the “Terra de Festes” Congress in Alicante
On the other hand, the Festivals Commission has agreed to hold the second Congress’Land of Festivities‘ at the Feria Alicante on November 8, 9 and 10, coinciding with Expofiesta. The congress will aim to know in more detail the needs of the different festival organizations and will highlight the commitment of the Generalitat in the defense of traditions.
It is worth remembering that the first “Terra de Festes” congress was held in Benidorm in December 2023 and that these events are part of the agreement signed between the Generalitat and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP) for the promotion and dissemination of the festivals and traditions of the municipalities of the Valencian Community, at the proposal of the General Directorate of Institutional Promotion and the Advisory Commission for Festivals and Traditions.
New website and application ‘Terra de Festes’
The Commission has brought forward the upcoming activation of a website and an application, available for Android and iOS devices, to offer information and programming for all the festivals in the Valencian Community, which will be provided by the festival groups themselves.
Likewise, it is planned to disseminate the information collected on the website and the application through the installation of signage. QR Codes in points of maximum influx and easy recognition, where it will store all the necessary information so that users can use it and visit all the festivals of the Valencian Community.
The Commission has the character of a permanent collegiate body of advice and consultation on the dissemination and institutional promotion of the festivals and traditions of the Valencian Community, and benefits from the collaboration of all citizens and their associative fabric. Its main functions include dissemination and promotion actions such as institutional campaigns and publications, as well as the promotional activity carried out by the Generalitat and the entities of its instrumental public sector, through the organization of events, conferences and other actions with similar characteristics.
