The Tres Cantos City Council is promoting the pilot phase of COMUNICANDO, a pioneering strategy that encourages responsible screen use and face-to-face relationships. During July and August, actions such as the campaign 'This summer, disconnect' are being tested.
The Tres Cantos City Council has launched the pilot phase of the Municipal Plan COMUNICANDO, a pioneering strategy aimed at promoting a healthy, balanced, and responsible use of screens and digital devices, as well as recovering spaces for personal meetings, conversation, and coexistence. The initiative responds to the impact that intensive use of mobile phones and screens can have on face-to-face relationships, well-being, education, and daily habits, as explained by Sonia Lolo, Councillor for Family and Equality.
The councillor emphasises that the approach does not stem from a rejection of technology, but from the need to foster a more conscious relationship with it and place it at the service of people. During the summer months, various actions are being carried out to test this first phase, which will progressively and transversally integrate nine departments – Family and Equality, Education, Public Health, Commerce, Sports, Youth, Seniors, Citizen Participation, and Digital Transformation – alongside families, educational centres, businesses, social entities, and companies in the municipality.
One of the main actions in this initial stage is the multimedia impact campaign 'This summer, disconnect', which invites reflection on the time spent on electronic devices and aims to recover spaces for personal meetings. It highlights how screens can absorb attention even when sharing the same space, or how a simple gesture like putting away the phone returns the focus to face-to-face conversation, Lolo emphasises.
Among the actions contemplated by COMUNICANDO are training and advising families, the so-called Family Contract for the First Mobile, and support for educational centres and parents' associations to promote healthier digital environments. This is complemented by existing municipal resources, such as the Family School, the Family Mediation Service, the Familiteca – which will soon open its doors – and the Five Senses Space.
The plan will also delve into creative leisure to combat digital sedentary behaviour, digital literacy for older adults, and the recovery of public, commercial, and local spaces as places for relationships and coexistence.
The Commerce Department has implemented the campaign 'Tres Cantos and its shops care for you', which already includes nearly a hundred local establishments. Participating businesses allow minors to make phone calls to their families, if needed, without having to use their own mobile phone, clarifies María José Beltrán, Councillor for Commerce. This is a close, accessible, and safe resource that offers peace of mind to families and an alternative to delay access to smartphones, she indicates.
Meanwhile, the Education Department has carried out a pilot experience with 6th-grade students from CEIP Carmen Hernández Guarch and their families. The result has been very satisfactory and provides a first direct experience with students and families, explains Marisa Peña, head of Education. This experience is an extraordinary starting point to continue advancing during the next school year in supporting educational centres, families, and parents' associations, progressively incorporating new tools and actions adapted to each educational stage, she adds.
In the Youth and Childhood area, a conscious use of new technologies has been promoted through robotics and programming workshops, and verified information has been provided for tasks such as obtaining Interrail, the European Health Card, or the ISIC card. These initiatives are complemented by device-free workshops, such as drawing or healthy cooking, to encourage learning, personal interaction, and leisure away from screens, indicates Councillor Jorge Aragón.
The development of COMUNICANDO requires collaboration with specialised entities and organisations in the municipality to gather the experiences of families, educators, and social entities, and provide tools that allow understanding the technological habits of each household and establishing guidelines according to their needs. The experience gained during these months will serve to guide the next step of the strategy, which will be rolled out generally from September, coinciding with the start of the school year.
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