Times
ISSUE 661 • 16th - 22nd November 2018
EST 2005
TALKS: Equality and Education Councillor Belen Martinez and psychologist Virtudes Hernandez talk to youngsters about violence in adolescence.
Alerting young
ACTIV ITIES h ave alr e ad y star ted in Huercal-Overa to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women on November 25. T he prog r amme of events under the slogan Facing Gender-based Violence: Union… the Solution, began on Monday morning with the first of the Prevention Days aimed at secondar y school a ge children to alert them to the different types of violence which can affect adolescents. Equ a l i t y a n d E d uc atio n Counc i l l o r B e l e n Ma r t in ez joined students for a talk by psychologist Virtudes Hernandez about how to deal with violence and what they could do. “The youngsters were ver y involved the whole time and a bove a l l yo u s e e th ey ar e ver y a wa r e o f t h e ge nd er -
based violence problem,” the councillor commented. “It is impor tant to educate our childr en and teena ger s a bo ut e qu a lit y t o p r eve n t there being cases of genderba s ed v io le n c e , n o t o n l y among adults, but also among child r e n, a d o le sc e n t s a n d young people.” Later in the day the educational initiative Violence at a Click aimed at primary and infant schoolchildren also got underway. Next Monday November 19 the exhibition Letters against Gender-based Violence will open at the municipal library, and the following day there will be storytelling for juniors and infants based on the antiv iole nc e a g a in st wo me n theme at the V illa T heatr e, entitled Scheherezade’s Secret. E ven ts aime d at r a isin g
a wa r e n e ss a b o u t g e n d e r based violence will then continue December 1. “We have designed the programme taking into account t h e a im o f e d u c at in g o u r young people about the importance of eradicating genderbased violence and sexist att it u d e s in r e lat io n sh ip s”, Belen Martinez commented. “Ou r ch ild r e n a n d yo u n g people ar e the key piece in the elimination of this kind of violence. Education if fundamental for this, and hence the g ove r n me n t t e a m wa n t e d them to be the main focus of these activities.” T he councillor continued, “Huercal-Overa again says no to gender-based violence, and we do so united, listening to t h e vo ic e s o f ch ild r e n a n d teenagers, and the different groups we work with to eradicate this social scourge.”
Healthy habits challenge ALMERIA joined municipalities around the country marking International Obesity Day with the Walking for a Challenge initiative. Around 800 children from 18 schools took part in the event last weekend, walking the five kilometres from El Palmeral in Almeria City to the University of Almeria campus. The challenge was organised by the Almeria provincial government and the University of Almeria with the aim of raising awareness among local youngsters about the importance of healthy habits and practising some kind of sport to prevent obesity. In all, 62 municipalities took up the walking challenge simultaneously with the aim of together covering the 384,400km distance which separates the earth from the moon. Speaking at the starting line, provincial administration Vice-President Javier A Garcia encouraged the children to enjoy themselves, telling them; “What we aim to achieve with this activity is that you acquire healthy habits, that you acquire the good habit of going out and walking and moving.” Garcia said the regional government is committed to promoting good health in all respects, revealing that one of the most popular activities the administration has organised has been the Flavours in Family initiative aimed at promoting the benefits of healthy eating and using good quality local produce in cooking. Also at the starting line was Almeria City Sports councillor Juan Jose Segura. He told the children his department’s main aim was to “promote physical activity among schoolchildren so it becomes a habit for their whole lives.”