These are times of emergency, when finding housing that we can afford is more difficult than ever, almost impossible. It's not just about having a roof over our heads to sleep under: housing has a dimension that goes much further, that is part of people's emotional experiences. There are houses that are homes, places of happiness, welcome, and refuge. Others are simply passing places, with a limited imprint on the personal stories of those who have spent time within those four walls. This is precisely what the project Homes explores, by the collective La forma dels somnis (formed by people from the Degree in Catalan Language and Literature at the UIB, the Mental Health area of the Hospital Comarcal d’Inca, and the association La Nostra Veu).

These are times of emergency, when finding housing that we can afford is more difficult than ever, almost impossible. It's not just about having a roof over our heads to sleep under: housing has a dimension that goes much further, that is part of people's emotional experiences. There are houses that are homes, places of happiness, welcome, and refuge. Others are simply passing places, with a limited imprint on the personal stories of those who have spent time within those four walls. This is precisely what the project Homes explores, by the collective La forma dels somnis (formed by people from the Degree in Catalan Language and Literature at the UIB, the Mental Health area of the Hospital Comarcal d’Inca, and the association La Nostra Veu).

Access toyouth emancipation in the Balearic Islands is sufficiently conditioned by place of origin and gender, but also by a context of labor precarity that hinders the construction of solid and independent life projects. This is what the Youth Yearbook 2025 reports, which indicates that the differences in access to housing and employment “show structural inequalities that institutions have not yet tackled with enough force”.

Active, healthy, and committed young people. This is the challenge that the Consell de Mallorca sets for the island's youth and which it develops through various programs that combine mental health, creativity, nature, and new opportunities. With this commitment, the institution wants to respond to the real concerns of young people and offer them useful tools for their day-to-day lives, from emotional well-being to personal expression or quality free time. In the words of the president of the Consell, Llorenç Galmés, “we have not only the obligation, but the firm will to support our young people and contribute to their integral growth. It is, without a doubt, the best investment we can make for Mallorca: betting on the talent, well-being, and development of the capabilities of our young people”.

Catalan has not disappeared from the lives of young people in the Balearic Islands. It is heard in classrooms, in conversations between friends, and in many homes and environments. But it no longer always comes out on its own. Increasingly, speaking it is a choice – and it is here where its immediate future is being played out. The success of initiatives like Acampallengua and the youth presence at language rallies show that the muscle remains active and capable of mobilization. It is not just a symbolic issue: these are spaces where the language is practiced, reinforced, and projected into the future. This year, the first edition of Correllengua Agermanat will test this commitment.

An incident that occurred this past weekend at the Sant Francesc youth center has generated social concern on the island, after several minors were involved in a violent altercation in a space designated for youth recreation. The events have provoked reactions from families, comments on social media, and a statement from the Island Council. According to accounts from some young people present at the center, chairs were thrown during the altercation, and tense moments ensued, requiring the intervention of the facility's staff and the notification of the local police. Some minors claimed to have seen knives, although this has not been confirmed by the police, who are still investigating the incident. The events took place in a space that many families consider safe and a key resource for young people on the island. Following the incident, several parents publicly expressed their concern and demanded explanations and preventative measures to ensure that similar situations do not occur again. The messages disseminated emphasize the need to guarantee safety without singling anyone out based on their origin, appealing to institutional responsibility and adequate supervision of minors. The Formentera Council has acknowledged the concern generated and reiterated that the island has limited resources to provide ongoing care for minors requiring specific support. In this regard, the institution stressed that Formentera lacks certain specialized centers and that it is necessary for other administrations to get involved to provide the island with the appropriate resources. The objective, according to institutional sources, is to preserve coexistence and ensure that public spaces intended for young people are safe. Furthermore, the commitment to bring this situation to the attention of the competent authorities so that Formentera's voice is heard and it receives the necessary resources was reiterated. The events are still under review, and further details regarding the scope of the incident are expected from the authorities.

Nearly 150,000 people live alone in the Balearic Islands, and half of them are under 60. Loneliness is not just a problem affecting the elderly; increasingly, young people and adults are living alone. Ferran Didac i Lluch, a philosopher from Mahón specializing in geography, even predicts that unwanted loneliness will increase by 62% in the Islands over the next 15 years. Many of these people will also spend the Christmas and New Year holidays alone, when social isolation due to a lack of relationships or unforeseen circumstances becomes more pronounced. Women, especially in old age and due to their greater longevity, are more likely to live alone and, therefore, are more likely to face these kinds of situations.

Mobile phone monitoring, live location sharing, prohibitions on boyfriends having female friends (or girlfriends having male friends), and clothing supervision "for not being provocative." These are dynamics that have spread among many young people and that break with the progress of recent decades in the way romantic relationships are understood. Newer generations are, in many ways, more conservative than previous ones, a step backward that educational institutions are trying to address and combat, despite the power of the messages they receive outside the classroom.

Young people in Mallorca today are fitter than they were a decade ago, according to a study. Evolution of the physical condition of adolescents in Mallorca in the last decade (2014-2024): what is the current situation?The study, prepared by researchers David Carbonell Escalas, Jaume Cantallops Ramon, and Josep Vidal Conti, and included in the 2025 Education Yearbook, analyzes the evolution of two key health indicators: VO₂ max, which measures aerobic capacity (the body's ability to use oxygen during physical exercise), and weight and height. It also examines BMI, indicating higher weight relative to height. The study detected an increase in the average BMI of adolescents, from 20.7 in 2014 to 21.7 in 2024, suggesting a slight upward trend in body weight. Regarding VO₂ max, a substantial improvement in aerobic capacity was observed, with an increase from 33.3 ml/kg/min in 2014 to 42.1 ml/kg/min in 2024. These differences are statistically significant.

The Balearic Islands will launch a new public speaking competition with the aim of improving the communication and reading skills of secondary school, high school, and vocational training students during the 2025-2026 academic year. The initiative aims to promote confidence and clarity in oral expression, a skill that the Regional Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, considers "one of the major outstanding issues in the Balearic education system."

The Association of Journalists of the Balearic Islands (APIB) has launched the second edition of its project to promote newspaper reading among young people, which offers a free quarterly subscription to a Balearic newspaper. This initiative, subsidized by the Government's General Directorate for Youth, includes all the Balearic Islands' newspapers and is therefore a great opportunity to obtain a free quarterly subscription to ARA Baleares, the Catalan-language newspaper of the Balearic Islands. You'll find the subscription link here.

"In the Balearic Islands we don't say 'fucking Renfe', we say 'fucking TIB'". This is how a group of young people expressed themselves on the Instagram account @no.mimporta, referring to the company that manages public transportation in the Balearic Islands. Tired of the reality of traveling around Mallorca by bus, they shared a video in which they denounced the "odyssey" of using this transportation service.

The self-proclaimed pro-independence organization Arran posted a video on social media that has sparked controversy and mixed reactions. The video includes images of graffiti on the facade of the Ministry of Tourism, with the slogan "guilty of our misery," and the burning of photographs of the regional president and several business leaders.