The renewed INFORMACIÓN Club facilities opened this week to celebrate the second Municipal Forum organized by INFORMATION. The forum brought together the mayors from across the Alicante province to discuss local challenges and future plans. The two-day sessions, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 29 and 30, featured remarks from regional leaders including Generalitat President Ximo Puig, Rebeca Torró, Minister of Public Works and Mobility, and Carlos Mazón, Speaker of the State Assembly.
The opening event of this local initiative drew mayors, councilors, provincial deputies, representatives of public institutions, and leaders from business, social, and media sectors. Each participant shared their vision for municipal governance and the critical role of information management in serving citizens. Toni Cabot, who led the session, described Knowledge Club as a hub for Alicante’s community to exchange ideas and strengthen local government.
Municipal Forum.
Benidorm’s first councilors, Toni Pérez, Rubén Alfaro, and Eduardo Dolón attended, along with video presentations from San Vicente del Raspeig, Calp, and Crevillent. The program also featured appearances by Julián López Milla, head of the Alicante Port Authority; Antonio Rodes, managing director of the Valencia Community Thematic Projects Association; José Antonio García Galdón, PreZero regional manager; Anaïs Menguzzato, managing director of Ferrocarrils for the Generalitat Valenciana; and Ángel Luna, Ombudsman for the Valencian Community.
Tomás Mayoral, director of INFORMACIÓN, opened the stage with remarks about the conferences as a chance to reflect and debate with the municipalities where people live. He noted the double satisfaction of celebrating the 2022 Municipal Forum at the paper’s home, a place believed to be the readers’ own space. The session then featured a keynote by Carlos Mazón, who emphasized the need for a second decentralization of state and regional powers and highlighted the importance of the +Cerca Plan. This initiative represents a historic fund of 40 million euros for Alicante’s municipalities.
A simultaneous roundtable on Informacióntv focused on climate change and the agricultural sectors of the municipalities. Mayors and figures from Almoradi, Daya Vieja, Busot, Mutxamel, Monóvar, Cox, Bigastro, and other towns discussed energy transition and the challenges of regulating photovoltaic installations to protect fertile farmland.
To close the morning, the Ombudsman was invited to conclude the first day, which saw calls for increased funding to address local underfunding and a push for greater transparency in city councils.
The second day
On Wednesday, Ximo Puig opened the second session with a focus on two pillars: municipalism and investment. He remarked on a government that respects corporations and places citizens at the center of cooperative efforts to improve daily life.
In the morning, leaders from diverse sectors participated in discussions: directors and deputies responsible for infrastructure and municipal aid, mayors from Orihuela, Alcoy, Elche, and Alicante, and researchers working on information and civic projects. They shared insights on how local governance can better respond to community needs and how investments can drive sustainable growth.
Pictured above, the regional leadership arrives to join the forum.
Two roundtables explored crisis management, industrial development, tourism, and sustainability. Debates included concerns about diversifying local economies and expanding property development to meet business needs while respecting environmental and community considerations. The tourism topic highlighted the potential of El Campello and L’Alfàs del Pi to extend seasonal activity through coordinated strategies. Videos from additional municipalities were shown to illustrate regional diversity.
The latest contributions came from Rebeca Torró, the Valencian Minister of Public Works and Mobility, who explained that forums like this one serve as opportunities to learn, reflect, and gather ideas and suggestions from various municipalities. The event underscored the essential role of city councils as the closest and most immediate form of government to citizens, especially in addressing local concerns and service delivery.