Many readers have probably never heard of cultural rights. And upon hearing them mentioned, they might assume they pertain to those within the cultural sector, having nothing to do with them. As with concepts like heteropatriarchy or gentrification, it seems that cultural rights have only recently entered the public discourse and are perceived as affecting only a few very specific areas, when in reality they have a structural dimension and are already enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948, specifically regarding the cultural life of the community and the enjoyment of the arts. Even so, these rights are far from being guaranteed in the Balearic Islands.

New linguistic controversy in the Balearic Islands.STEI The union has expressed its strong disagreement with the proposal from the Balearic Government's Department of Culture to update the equivalency of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) and Bachillerato (Upper Secondary Education) qualifications with official Catalan language certificates. The initiative plans to lower the minimum grade required to obtain a B2 level in Secondary Education and a C1 level in Bachillerato from 8 to 7. The union denounces that this measure is justified by the need to adapt to the new qualitative grading system, but considers that, in reality, it represents another concession by the Popular Party government to Vox's demands to "devalue and belittle" the Catalan language in the Balearic Islands. According to STEI, the decision contrasts with indicators that point to a progressive decline in the level of Catalan proficiency among students year after year.

The Menorca Island Council government does not intend to heed UNESCO's advice. Despite the pronouncement from the leading international body for heritage preservation, which recommends abandoning the Rafal Rubí viaduct and reaching a consensus on an at-grade road solution for this crossing of the main road between Mahón and Alaior, the team led by Adolfo Vilafranca announced this Friday that it will proceed with the project. The Councilors for Culture and Heritage, Joan Pons Torres, and for Mobility, Juan Manuel Delgado, appeared together to denounce the "political maneuver" by the Ministry of Culture and to make it clear that "we will not back down," since, "for us, the safety of the people of Menorca comes first." Both councilors accused the Ministry of "wanting to endanger Talayotic Menorca with the aim of harming the Island Council's governing team." Pons Torres emphasized that this is a "very serious act of disloyalty towards Menorca, towards all Menorcans, and above all, towards the Consell's staff." Specifically, the Popular Party criticizes the Ministry for sending external reports to UNESCO that lack the endorsement of the Consell Insular's technical staff and whose sole purpose is to obtain a negative report and harm the road improvement project in the Rafal Rubí section, promoted by the Popular Party government. Joan Pons, who is also the spokesperson for the governing team, criticized the lack of transparency and opacity that, in his view, the Ministry practices, since it has never informed the Council of all the documentation submitted to ICOMOS and UNESCO. The Popular Party councilor warned that "it would be very serious" if the reports favorable to the viaduct, issued by the institution's Highways Department technicians, had not also been sent to Paris. He also contradicted the Ministry, stating in its report that the support for the project from the Scientific Council of the Menorca Talayotic Agency was unclear, when—he commented—an absolute majority of its members voted in favor of the heritage impact assessment. Even so, some experts, such as the candidacy coordinator himself, Cipriano Marín, have resigned in recent months in disagreement with the island government. Eight years of paralysis

Likewise, the councilors suspect that the legal report concluding that the Rafal Rubí bridge cannot be demolished has not been submitted to UNESCO either. They argue that if a serious accident occurs and the viaduct is not yet finished, claims for damages could be made against the engineers and politicians involved. Therefore, they insisted, "the bridge will be finished. After eight years of paralysis, we will complete the main road renovation, acting with the utmost protection of the landscape and heritage." The UNESCO report, however, is clear. It warns that the current proposal will negatively impact the landscape of the navetas (prehistoric stone structures) and affect the integrity and authenticity of the landscape declared as having Outstanding Universal Value. The report even mentions other sections of the road with less traffic where far less impactful solutions have been implemented than the one planned for Rafal Rubí.

]]>

The Balearic Cultural Work (OCB), CineCiutat, Jóvenes por la Lengua, and Casa Planas will receive €430,000 in aid from the Ministry of Culture. Specifically, the OCB will receive a total of €300,000 for promoting its "essential work" for the Catalan language and culture in the Balearic Islands at "a particularly delicate historical moment." This was stated by Vicenç Vidal, a member of Congress for Sumar MÁS, who highlighted the "good work" carried out to secure the Ministry's award of this money to various cultural entities in the islands, according to Europa Press.

]]>