On Tuesday 2nd, a new working meeting was held by the so-called Third Sector of Mijas, which brings together the municipality’s social groups. The meeting, which took place at the Las Lagunas Branch Office, was chaired by the mayoress of the town, Ana Mata (PP), and the councillor for Social Inclusion, Mari Francis Alarcón (PP).Representatives from various social groups participated in the meeting, including the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), Soroptimist, Adimi, Cudeca, AFA Mijas, AFA Mijas-Fuengirola, Sembrando Sonrisas and Avatés.

“This meeting with the Third Sector helps us determine the direction of the municipality’s social action, taking into account the voices of social groups as well as the Social Inclusion department”, said the mayoress of Mijas, adding that “it also allows us to achieve a joint commitment from the associations, so that when one cannot address a particular aspect, another can help, always with the essential collaboration of the Town Hall”.

Greater visibility

During the meeting, ideas were collected to give greater visibility to the work carried out by each association, “by organising, for example, an event in the theatre for this purpose or by creating an informative travelling exhibition that passes through different points of the municipality such as supermarkets, the sports centre, the La Cala promenade... all so that people can get to know us and what we do”, explained Cristóbal Moreno, president of the Mijas Association for People with Disabilities (Adimi), who participated in the meeting.

 

Another proposal focused on holding awareness talks in secondary schools, something that the AFA Mijas association already does, said Mari Carmen López, director of the association’s day centre. “We do this with a dual objective: first, to inform young people about the general symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, in case they notice something in a family member at home; and second, to try to recruit young volunteers for our association, because they are our future”.

For her part, the councillor for Social Inclusion stated that “this is the second meeting we have held this year with the associations, following the first one in May, and the Town Hall will continue to convene these working groups quarterly, because our goal is to work together and network with all the groups, moving forward hand in hand”.

Rosa Planelles, president of Sembrando Sonrisas, agreed, stating that “communication with the Town Hall is very important so that they understand our needs, concerns, the work we carry out, and the service we provide voluntarily, which must also be taken into account”.

Grants

Mijas has already prepared the 2025 call for grants. It will allocate 570,000 euros to fund the projects carried out by the groups during the current year, within the framework of the new general subsidy ordinance, which was finally approved at the plenary session in October.

As usual, the Town Hall explains, “social organisations receive municipal funding for part of their activities at the end of the current year or at the beginning of the  next”.  In this case, the processing of the new ordinance - which has been extended from July 2024 to October 2025, from the first public consultation to final approval - will delay the call until early January, “a slight delay that will not affect the funds”, clarifies the Town Hall.  

When the call for applications opens, organisations will be required to register their eligible social projects, which will be paid for after justification.

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