The City Council promotes excellence and sustainability among young people through the program ‘Excellent and Responsible Citizen’.

It is aimed at adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age from schools in Estepona and the objective is to help them by encouraging their participation and integration in the current problems of society and their environment.

The councilor attached to the delegations of Education and Citizen Participation, Maria Aguilar; and the project manager, Alexandra Polacci, today reported on the training program ‘Excellent and Responsible Citizen’ that has been developed from April 30 to May 14 in local schools, both public and private, aimed at adolescents aged 14 to 18 years.

The municipal responsible has explained that this initiative was born with the aim of helping these young people by encouraging their participation and involvement in the current problems of society and its environment. To do this, as he has specified, has created a space for reflection on how to address current issues that occupy and concern this sector of the population, their families and society as a whole.

“After knowing and studying the latest reports that show how the happiness of young people is decreasing, due to social, economic, technological and ecological pressures, we thought it necessary to launch this initiative that we found very interesting and useful,” said the mayor.

This first edition of the program is part of an academic plan for Estepona’s public and private schools. It has already been developed in the San José school and in the IES Tomás Hormigo, and tomorrow it will be carried out in the Monterroso, Mar de Alborán and Puerta del Mar high schools.

For her part, Alexandra Polacci, project coordinator, PhD in Business Economics and European expert in Management Excellence, reported that the format consists of a debate, with a round table formed by students who are elected by their own peers and who participate actively; and by experts of great prestige and experience, such as Javier San Sebastián, a psychiatrist with extensive experience in the field of adolescent psychopathology; Ignacio Pausa, a clinical psychologist specializing in psychodynamics, relational therapy and emotional well-being; and Joaquín Membrado, a doctor in naval engineering and an expert in management excellence training, transformation, leadership and sustainability.

Also, as he said, there is the collaboration of leading companies in the sector that are committed to healthy lifestyle habits, sport and environmental protection, such as Cetursa Sierra Nevada, Agrojardín and Estepona Football Club.

The contents are focused on three main blocks: the construction and transformation of identity in adolescence, the responsible use of technology and social networks and the importance of education in sustainable values in adolescence.