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Mai 10
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The week of debating “intelligent cities”

By Our Islands One Comment

This is the week of “Smart Funchal”. Booked for May 11th and 12th, at the theatre, this first edition of the international conference will debate issues related with sustainable tourism, intelligent cities and local development.

Funchal citizesn will meet over twenty national and international speakers, amongst them US tv star Kevin Brauch and Luigi Cabrini, president of the Global Council for Sustainable Tourism and an adviser to the secretary general of the World Travel Organization.

In terms of Portuguese, there will be Luis Araujo, president of Turismo de Portugal, and Fernando Alvim, radio and tv host, who’ll bring the vision of how cities and tourism can relate to creativity and communication.

Paulo Cafofo, the Funchal mayor, says “this is one of the major events of the year, due to the huge range of themes and speakers, with a panel of great national and international reach”.

The mayor stresses the importance of “getting visitors to return and of involving the whole population in this brainstorm on the potential and the future of Funchal as an intelligent city.

You can still take part in the event. You only have to enroll, for free, at www.smartfunchal.com.

 

 

Mai 09
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Funchal cooperates with Mangaung

By Our Islands No Comments

Funchal mayor Paulo Cafofo received the executive presidente of the metropolitan council of Mangaung, in South African province of free State. Sarah Matawana Mlamleli was until yesterday (Monday, May 8th) in Madeira where she came to watch the Flower festival, which included a group from that province.

Of this official meeting, which came at the request Sarah Mlamleli, came the decision to elaborate a memorandum of cooperation between the two cities, namely in the areas of mobility and environment, which will be ratified in the following weeks. The intention of both councils is to develop the sharing of know how and good practices in these areas, strengthening the affective and cultural connections that already exist between the two communities, due to the strong presence of Madeiran immigrants in the Free State province.

The South African councilwoman said she was “deeply impressed with the organization and cleanliness of the city of Funchal, in what concerns the efficiency of the urban cleaning and waste collection services, to the good environmental practices, the excellence of the urban spaces and the good solutions of mobility and traffic”.

Paulo Cafofo, the mayor of Funchal, stated that “the closer the ties between cities that are departure and arrival points of migrants are, the more tools we will have to safeguard the interests and rights of our emigrants”.

Mai 09
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A selfie for 100 euro

By Nearby, Our Islands 2.602 Comments

A selfie for traditional commerce. This is the name of the most recente joint venture by the Funchal council and the Madeira chamber of commerce (ACIF). It’s a contest, taking place until Friday May 12th, that has 100 euro in goods from traditional commerce shops reserved for the best picture.

But the idea goes further. And this is because, starting with the Flower festival, the two entities want to focus on the windows of the shops in the centre of Funchal. So the contest also contributes to strengthen traditional commerce.

This is a measure that is part of the revitalizing plan of commerce and services in Funchal, and comes in addition to the shop windows competition entitled “Cidade das Flores” (city of flowers), which aims at supporting more creative shops.

The competition “a selfie for traditional commerce” will elect the best self portrait with the background of a shop window decorated with floral motives. All interested are invited to take part, and they can do this on their own or have, at the most, three people in each picture.

Mai 07
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The ten groups you can see in today’s parade

By Our Islands No Comments

This afternoon comes the most expected moment of the flower festival week. The parade of over 1200 people, divided into ten different groups, through the Avenida do Mar, in Funchal. On a day in which sun promises to be an added bonus, the parade is scheduled for 16h.

This year there’s an added novelty, as the parade features an additional group, a special invitation, from the free State, in South Africa, coordinated by well known designer João Egídio.

Millions of flowers make participating kids and grown ups special, and will give the city a scent of charm, beauty and grandness, which has happened, yearly, since 1979.

The ten groups will be featured as follows:

– “Madeira uma flor de flores” (Madeira, a flower of flowers) – João Egídio Rodrigues
– Invited group from the Free State – África do Sul
– “Encanto das Flores”  (Flowers’ Charm) – Associação de Animação Geringonça
– “Madeira ilha das flores”  (Madeira, Island of flowers) – Turma do Funil
– “Jardins, a beleza dos sonhos”  (Gardens, the beauty of dreams) – Associação Fura Samba
– “Os jardins da Império” (The gardens of the empire) – Associação Império da Ilha
– “Borboleta de Sonhos” (Dreams’ butterfly) – Sorrisos de Fantasia
– “Gloss de Primavera” (Spring gloss) – Associação ANIMAD
– “Madeira florida”(Flowery Madeira) – Escola de Samba Caneca Furada
– “Dreamland”  (Dreamland) – Isabel Borges

Mai 06
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Madeira is a flower until tomorrow… and the day after

By Our Islands 3.614 Comments

Fotos: Pedro Menezes

From Avenida Arriaga to Praça do Povo, from the Muro da Esperança to the flower carpets, Madeira receives, this weekend, thousands of tourists who seek, more and more, this event that (still) makes us different.

The festival has grown. So much the better. The island is preparing, tomorrow, for another feast of colour, scents and charms, made out of children, adults, youth and some less so, all lending their smiles during the parade on Funchal’s most iconic avenue, the Avenida do Mar.

Until then, Madeirans and their guests can appreciate the incomparable flower carpets in Funchal’s Avenida Arriaga, and the decorations in the city square, a different weekend preceding the unveiling of a traditional Madeiran flower carpet, made by the Unidade de Mercados of the Funchal council, in the main market of Funchal, the Mercado dos Lavradores, the farmers’ market.

The opening is scheduled for Monday, May 8th, at 10h30.

 

Mai 04
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Envelhecer a mexer-se no Teatro

By Our Islands No Comments

Hoje e amanhã, sexta-feira, o Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias acolhe, pela segunda vez, o II Festival Cultural Sénior. O evento pretende apresentar os diversos grupos de dança, teatro e música dos utentes dos ginásios camarários, nomeadamente de Santo António, da Barreirinha e de São Martinho. O Centro Comunitário do Funchal e da Universidade Sénior do Funchal farão também parte do “elenco”.

Este programa está inserido na iniciativa “Envelhecimento Activo” que inclui, amanhã, uma conferência com especialistas em medicina e no desporto, que darão aos utentes dos ginásios um panorama sobre diversas áreas, nomeadamente a actividade física, ortopedia e cardiologia.

Estão também agendados dois espectáculos: um hoje às 15 e a repetição amanhã às 19h30.

Mai 04
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Ideas for a more active mother’s day

By Our Islands No Comments

Escape the perfume, photo and scented candle routine. This is the suggestion of InMadeira, advancing a more active set of alternatives, including tours – ashore or afloat, and various weekends.

Different ideas, with an added interest factor – InMadeira will be giving someone a voucher for a sea trip for two on Bonita da Madeira. Determining who this someone is will depend on a juror’s decision, after participants send in a photo or selfie of the activity they developed on Mother’s Day, plus an original sentence. The best, according to the juror, wins.

InMadeira is a platform providing information and the facilities for real time bookings of touristic services, available to all enterprises in the trade that want to make their services available online, or sell other companies’ products.

You can read more in http://www.inmadeira.com/pt/events/dia-da-mae/

Mai 03
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Porto Moniz celebrates May Day

By Our Islands No Comments

Football, cards and games. All sound pretexts to gather hundreds of people in the Borda pitch, in Porto Moniz, to celebrate May Day. The event, organized by the Porto Moniz council, also counted with ADN and the musical countest “Vozes de Maio”.