According to Mayor Pascual Lucas, the center will officially open on May 5th following the completion of the renovation project included in the Cieza 2025 Sustainable Urban Development Strategy (EDUSI), co-financed with ERDF funds under 80% for a total of €1,205,533.85. The building houses the new Youth Leisure Center, whose first program was presented by the Councilor for the department, Marta Sánchez.
The remodeling of what until now has been the Géneros de Punto Cultural Center and the Aurelio Guirao Auditorium is, Lucas emphasizes, "the culmination of one of the projects of the previous term to convert the site into a social center aimed especially at young people and to transform the auditorium into a fully accessible coliseum, thus promoting full inclusion in the social and cultural sphere, in addition to also taking great care of energy efficiency in line with European guidelines and sustainable development goals."
The councilor explained that the project, of which the City Council only had to contribute the 20% budget, has taken "longer than we would have liked, as it was awarded to a company with which we subsequently had to terminate the contract for failing to meet its commitments and put it out to tender again. It is finally a reality thanks, among others, to the team from the European Projects Department, led by María Jesús López, who secured the necessary funding to carry out the work and has been overseeing its progress."
Sánchez, for his part, announced that attendance at the official opening, on Thursday, May 5, at 8:00 p.m., will be available after receiving an invitation starting next Wednesday at the Youth Council.
Regarding the first program, designed for the months of May and June and aimed at young people, covering training and healthy leisure activities, the councilor specified that it will include workshops on theater, drawing, relaxation techniques, self-defense, emotions, youth guarantee, how to create a resume, and sushi introductions, as well as activities and games such as the magic trunk, live Cluedo, Pasapalabra for equality, escape box, and a table tennis tournament.
"All of this," explains Marta Sánchez, "will allow us to continue boosting leisure time in Cieza and work on promoting non-formal education to make young people's free time a place of enjoyment. Users will find extensive and diverse programming at the new center, rotating based on young people's demands and interests, integrating proposals from the Local Youth and Children's Council and those gathered through a survey of high schools. In addition, fixed spaces will be available, such as a cafeteria, board game rooms, a movie theater and a gaming room, reading spaces, and other multipurpose spaces for team activities, subject to reservation."
One of the most important amenities is a new study room within the center, the fourth in the municipality, which can be expanded during exam periods by adding multipurpose rooms.
Registration for the activities, almost all of which are free, can be done in person at the offices on the first floor of the Capitol Theater, by emailing the Youth Department at juventud@cieza.es, or by calling 968764353.
Source: Cieza City Council.
English 
Spanish