Por Redaccion 
Students have also shown interest in local football teams, the city’s relationship with Elche, and the mechanisms available to express their concerns and proposals to the City Council.
Alicante, February 12, 2025. The City Council of Alicante held the Children’s Plenary Session on Wednesday, with the participation of 50 5th-grade students from Sagrada Familia School. They had the opportunity to learn about the internal functioning of the Council and ask questions to the Councilors of Education, Mari Carmen de España, and Presidency, Manolo Peral.
Prior to the Plenary, the two councilors guided the students through the Hall of Mayors and the Blue Hall of the City Council, providing historical facts that caught their attention, 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 plenary session. The session began with the election of students to play the roles of mayor/president, vice-mayor, secretaries, and auditor. Following this, two students read a text they had prepared in class about freedom of expression.
Students’ Concerns
After these interventions, the question-and-answer session began, where students from Sagrada Familia School raised issues such as city cleanliness, access to housing, combating illegal occupation, measures to promote economic activity, and the assistance provided after the storm in October.
De España and Peral emphasized the need for «collaboration from everyone, including you, the children, to keep the city clean.» They mentioned that the City Council «has increased personnel and resources in the recent award of the street cleaning and waste collection contract.»
Regarding access to housing and control of illegal occupation, the councilors mentioned that «this is a problem on which the City Council and the Generalitat are working jointly, with measures such as the development of protected housing.» They also highlighted the recent opening of the Office against Illegal Occupation to address this issue within municipal competencies.
When asked about measures to promote economic and tourist development in Alicante, De España and Peral discussed initiatives such as support for new businesses to establish themselves in the city and the implementation of tourism campaigns by the Local Development Agency and the Tourism Board, respectively.
Elche and Valencia
Furthermore, a student inquired about measures to strengthen the connection between Alicante and Elche, to which Peral responded that both municipalities are collaborating «more closely than ever» to foster these ties, which have already yielded results like the Elche-Alicante Marathon scheduled for November.
The storm that hit Valencia in October also sparked several questions from the students regarding Alicante’s safety measures against such meteorological events and the assistance provided to the affected. In response, Peral and De España discussed the Anti-Flood Plan and subsequent infrastructure projects like La Marjal Park. They detailed the aid sent from Alicante to Valencia, including financial support (1.5 million euros), collection of essential goods, and deployment of municipal personnel, vehicles, and emergency, security, and cleaning supplies.
When asked about ways to communicate their opinions and needs to the City Council, the Education Councilor invited the students to visit the City Hall whenever they wanted. «The City Hall is everyone’s house, including children, and the doors are open to assist you when needed,» she stated. She also committed to visiting their school «whenever you have any issues to discuss.»
In a lighthearted tone, students also posed questions about the City Council’s support for local football teams like Hércules and Intercity to move up in category, as well as sharing funny anecdotes experienced by the councilors.
At the end of the session, the councilors presented the students with a token of appreciation and awarded the school a certificate of participation in the Children’s Plenary, signed by Mayor Luis Barcala.