Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council has approved four agreements that will mobilise €120,000 to promote adapted sailing, preserve traditional sailing, and support nautical SMEs.
The City Council's Governing Board gave the green light this Thursday to four collaboration agreements aimed at opening the sea to all citizens and strengthening the local blue economy. With a municipal contribution of €60,000, the collaborating entities will match this amount, mobilising a total of €120,000 for initiatives in inclusion, cultural heritage, training, and business support.
The agreements will be formalised with the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, the Federación de Vela Latina Canaria de Botes, the Club Marítimo Varadero de Gran Canaria, and the Provincial Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises of Metal and New Technologies of Las Palmas (FEMEPA). The councillor for the Sea City and Local Development area, Pedro Quevedo, emphasised that public-private collaboration allows for the doubling of the impact of municipal resources.
“These agreements demonstrate that collaboration with the city's entities not only adds resources but multiplies results. With a municipal contribution of €60,000, we manage to mobilise €120,000 and act simultaneously in inclusion, youth, active ageing, cultural heritage, training, employment, and business competitiveness,” Quevedo stated.
The councillor insisted that the main value of the alliance lies in the people. The scheduled activities will reach people with disabilities, students from educational centres, young people aged 11 to 19, adults, athletes, professionals, and small businesses. “It is about opening the sea to all citizens and turning it into a source of well-being, opportunities, and sustainable economic activity,” he added.
The agreement with the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria allocates €20,000 municipal to the 'An Inclusive Sea 2026' project. With the equivalent contribution from the club, the initiative will have €40,000 to promote adapted sailing among associations and educational centres with inclusion classrooms, develop introductory and technical courses, and organise an inclusive sailing competition.
Meanwhile, the agreement with the Federación de Vela Latina Canaria de Botes will boost the 'Achicando el Bote' project, endowed with a total of €30,000, of which €15,000 comes from the City Council. The actions will focus on the dissemination and conservation of this Cultural Heritage through sea baptisms, visits, seminars, and talks aimed at young people aged 11 to 19. The initiative seeks to reverse the low participation rate in this traditional sport among new generations.
The agreement with the Club Marítimo Varadero de Gran Canaria has a municipal contribution of €10,000, matched by another €10,000 from the entity. This agreement will facilitate access for adults of any age to sailing sports, promoting their physical benefits and consolidating the capital as a destination for water sports throughout the year.
The fourth agreement, processed through the Economic Promotion area, is formalised with FEMEPA with a total value of €30,000, of which €15,000 is a municipal contribution. The collaboration will allow for the development of training actions, technical advice, the IX Professional Nautical Week, and external promotion of the sector.
The aim of this action is to improve the competitiveness of the local productive fabric in sports sailing and ship repairs, which is composed of 90% small and medium enterprises averaging five workers. FEMEPA currently groups 1,507 companies and represents 20,746 workers.
For the residents of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, these agreements translate into more opportunities to practice adapted sailing, participate in cultural activities related to the sea, and access training programmes that can enhance employability in a strategic sector for the city. The entities will begin to implement the projects in the coming months, with activities open for registration through each organisation's channels.
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